Exchange of vows ceremony

My partner and I (both British nationals) will be on holiday in Japan at the end of october beginning of november 2008 and wish to have a traditional Japanese exchange of vows type of wedding ceremony on the 5th of November in Kyoto. We have sorted the Legal side of it with no problem but are really struggling to arrange a simple no frills ceremony that will not cost us an absolute fortune. My partner and I have been together for 16 years and do not want anything flash. We would be quite happy to have a short ceremony in the hotel or local city office if we could or even a shinto style ceremony at a temple somewhere. Does anyone have any information? We are stopping at the 'Gravia' on the 5th of Novemebr but it appears they only offer a western protestant ceremony and want £750 for it!! (Embarrassingly) The trouble is we do not speak Japanese and therefore would need someone who speaks or can translate to english for us.
We would be grateful for any advice or info. Thanks for your time in advance
Sharon.

Sharon,

I can't offer much help, but you should note that, unlike the UK, ceremonies are not performed at city halls. They are usually held at hotels, wedding chapels, and shrines/temples. Simple ceremonies will be hard to find, but there are a few people in this forum who have written about having had ceremonies in Japan, so you might get some hints by trawling back through the forum archives.

If it's the "traditional vows" that count, the answer is simple. Ask for a shinto style ceremony to be arranged and skip the costume and banquette. It's perfectly fine to do a shinto ceremony in suits or knee-high dresses (although it's not common).

The thing is that the ceremony itself will probably cost you a fair amount of money. Couples in Japan who do not wish to have a flashy wedding usually book a wedding-and-honeymoon-in-one package to Hawaii, or just creat their own arrangements and take vows in front of friends.

But from a quick internet search, I did find info saying that the famous Izumo-taisha in Shimane Prefecture provides ceremonies for only 20000 yen. Another (old) information said that "a famous shrine in Kyoto" provides ceremonies where you can choose from either 30000, 50000, or 100000 yen.

Btw, shinto is practiced at "shrines" while buddism is practiced at "temples". Typically, native Japanese couples get married in either shinto style or Christian protestant style.

Let's hope that someone else can provide better information.

http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+47344

City halls do not hold ceremonies for the couples - you wiill have to arrange something with a shrine that is willing to hold the ceremony for you with language help and everything.. but still normally the ceremony alone would cost 50,000, 80,000 or so, as it comes with the blessiing of the shrine...