Christmas in Japan

If you walked around Japan on Christmas Day, you wouldn’t notice too much that’s different or out of the ordinary. All the shops would be appropriately decorated and seasonal foods would be seen on advertisements, Christmas music would be playing, and just about everything would be urging you to get into the Christmas spirit. In Japan, however, Christmas is not religiously celebrated (I guess it’s becoming less and less religious around the world too). It’s also not a day that’s about Santa Claus either. Instead, it’s more about him and his wife and what they do together, if you catch my drift. Ho ho ho! ♪

Many articles have been written about Christmas in Japan, from the finger lickin’ good KFC Christmas dinners to lovely strawberry shortcakes to the conspiracy that Santa Claus is actually Japanese. What we haven’t covered, though, is what Christmas means to Japanese couples, so I’d like to do that.

In fact, as many of you may already know, Christmas in Japan is not for families. It’s for couples. Granted, if you’re still a child you can still expect a gift or two, but once you’re grown up, unless you’re dating someone, don’t expect to be doing much Christmas celebrating. Japanese couples go on dates on Christmas because they think it’s romantic for them to go out on that day.

Actually, Christmas Eve has become, perhaps, the most romantic night of the year in Japan. It’s a day for couples to celebrate each other in every possible way. All of the fancy restaurants will be holding special reservations from months in advance and many expensive items move off the shelves at this time. I’d also like to recommend not getting married on Christmas Eve because every honeymoon suite and every hotel in Japan will be booked. It is indeed a day for lovers.

Why Is Christmas So Romantic?

So why in the world is Christmas so romantic? Of course there are Christmas lights and decorations all through the city streets, in shops, on buildings, and even in theme parks. They help to get couples into the romantic mood! Magazines and TV programs have a great deal of influence in convincing young people to go out on Christmas Eve as well. Just like everywhere else, there are groups that want you to spend your money on Christmas. In Japan, it just happens to be couples, so hotels, jewelry stores, and the like will push really hard to make sure you spend the big yen for your loved one.

There are also lots of magazine guides that inform people where to go in order to have a successful and romantic Christmas date. And on TV, there are lots of programs introducing dating spots for this particular day. Young people think they need a boyfriend/girlfriend on Christmas Eve and if they don’t have a partner when that day comes they sometimes will feel ashamed or depressed. It’s large enough of a phenomenon that it is well known that many single people try their hardest to get a boyfriend or girlfriend in the weeks approaching Christmas Eve.

So, a combination of social pressure, Christmas lights, and a lot of advertising dollars make this the most romantic Japanese day of the year. It’s not so dissimilar to Valentine’s Day in America or Canada, though I think Japan tends to go a little crazy on holidays like this.

Christmas For a Japanese Person who is dating a non-Japanese

I think that “Christmas for couples” is acceptable as long as you are dating a Japanese person. For Western people, it’s usually a time to spend with family, though sometimes your partner is considered family in a way (but you don’t go off on a romantic date exclusive to you two). This difference between cultures can sometimes cause issues when a non-Japanese and Japanese person are dating. According to one woman who is dating an Italian man, for example, she becomes envious of her Japanese friends every Christmas. Let’s see why.

欧米ではクリスマスや年末年始などのイベントは家族で過ごすことが当たり前だそうで、彼と一緒に過ごすことができません。日本では、クリスマスは恋人と過ごしている友人が多くてうらやましい！
“My boyfriend is Italian. In Western cultures, it seems that people spend Christmas with their family, so I can’t be with my boyfriend. I’m jealous of my Japanese friends who can spend their Christmas with their boyfriends or girlfriends.” source: 国際恋愛「外国人と交際していて○○に驚いた」トレンドニュース

Although another anonymous person complained that she has to stay in Japan because of her job while her American boyfriend goes back to his country for Christmas, another Japanese guy who is dating an Australian woman says that he enjoys going to visit her family during Christmas. It is a bit of a rush though, because Japanese people don’t get Christmas holidays, so he has to get to the airport on the 23rd in order to make it on time for Christmas.

A similar thing happened to me once when my husband (boyfriend, at that time) and I were in Japan, though I wasn’t planning to spend Christmas alone with my boyfriend. I was actually planning to have a Christmas party in my apartment on the 25th and invited some friends. Of course I invited him, too, however at that time his brother was also in Japan and they were both planning to Skype their family from his brother’s house. I was also invited to join, but I had already made plans with my friends. I asked if it’s okay to take my friends there, too, but his brother wanted to keep it as a family thing. Taking friends there wasn’t acceptable! I ended up having the party without him and we had a great time. Of course, we bought KFC, which I should tell you is much different on Christmas than it is on normal days. They sell a really fancy chicken dinner (only for X’mas) and open a lot of wine bottles. Awww, it was such a good time! You may have thought my boyfriend and I could have had our romantic Christmas date on Christmas Eve, but we attended a mutual friend’s Christmas party, instead.

These are first world Christmas problems indeed!

The Lame Christmases That Turn Men Away

I previously wrote about the type of love confessions and birthday plans that turn women off, but I finally came across something that turn men away on Menjoy!. So, what kind of women’s behavior done on Christmas day has the power to make men think differently about them? Let’s read some responses in Japanese to find out. Pay attention, ladies!

ふだん行き慣れていない高級イタリアンや高級フレンチで明らかに挙動が不審な女性。レストランの席に通されるときから、歩き方がぎこちないとか、フィンガーボールの水を見て“おいしそうね”と言う女性。残念ですよね
I would turn away if my girlfriend got apparently nervous and behaved restlessly in a fancy Italian restaurant or a fancy French restaurant. For example, while we were guided to our table, if she walked like a robot, I would feel sad. It would also be pathetic if she were to say “looks tasty” while looking at the water in the finger bowl.

Aww! It kind of sounds like me. I’m certainly not used to such restaurants. I actually don’t like this quote. It makes me upset. If you complain that your girlfriend feels out of place in such restaurants, it would be your fault for not taking her to them often enough. *Angry*

クリスマスイブの日限定で網タイツを履く女性の心理は、だいたい察しがつきますが、ちょっとやる気まんまんすぎてドン引きしますよね。女性の気持ちを考えると、男性としてその気持ちを受け止めてあげたいのは山々ですが……
I understand that women want to dress up and wear fishnet stockings on Christmas Eve because they never get a chance to wear them, but it turns me off because I can’t help feeling that she got all pumped up and too excited about the whole thing. I considered her feelings and I really wanted to accept what she did for me, but I couldn’t help but say no.

とってつけたような勝負下着を着た女にどんびきした。クリスマスデートは、男女ともに下着には気を遣っていると思います。あまりに気遣いが極端になると、見たこともない真っ赤な下着とか、総レースのすごくゴージャスな下着とか、そういうものを身につける女性もいると思います。見慣れないものを見ると、びっくりするのが男性です。
I was turned off by a woman who was uncharacteristically wearing sexy underwear. For Christmas dates, both women and men are very careful about their choice in underwear, but there are some women who care too much and choose very red or 100% lace lingerie. However, guys will be shocked if they looked at something they aren’t used to.

「サンタさんの格好をした自分」をプレゼントされてどんびきした。
She tried to give herself to me while she was wearing a Santa costume. I was turned off.

These reactions might only happen among Japanese men (again, not all Japanese men think this way), but they tend to turn down women if they come off as too sexy in such situations. For example, I’ve heard many guys talk like this before: If a woman walks out of the bathroom naked after a shower, it disgusts them because those women don’t have any shyness. Apparently, acting shy will make girls seem “cute” for guys, and being a “cute girl” is what many Japanese girls strive to be. Thus, wearing fishnet stockings or gorgeous lingerie or being a sexy Santa can come off as the opposite of shy and the poor women failed to be the “cute girl” that some men require.

男に相談せずにホテルの部屋を予約する女にどんびきした。クリスマスイブとはいつのことかと言えば、それは月末であり、会社によっては25日の締め日前のすごく忙しい日です。そういうときに、横浜の●●ホテルに19時待ち合わせと言われても、すぐに行けないのです
I was turned off when my girlfriend made a reservation at a hotel without asking me a thing. Christmas Eve is the end of month and it could be such a busy day because the 25th of every month is a typical deadline date, depending on the company. At such a time, if I was told, “We are going to meet up at 7p.m. at the XXX hotel in Yokohama”, of course, I can’t be there on time.

Considering that there aren’t any Christmas holidays in Japan and how Japanese men prioritize business over relationships, this is very likely to happen, especially when Christmas Eve falls on a weekday. Although she probably just wanted to make him happy with her surprise, she should have asked him about his schedule first.

レストランでケーキを食べて、家でもケーキを食べることにどんびきした。このパターンは正直、苦手な男性のほうが多いのではないでしょうか。1日に2つ以上のケーキを食べることに男性は慣れていません。
I was turned off of by my girlfriend when we had to eat cake in the restaurant and then another cake at home afterward. I’d say most guys are bad at this, right? Guys aren’t used to eating two or more pieces of cake a day.

Personally, I’m a fan of cake (I should actually say I’m a fan of Japanese cake because Canadian cake is too sweet, except for homemade ones.) I may break up with him if he blamed me for finding two separate occasions to eat cake in one day. Instead of blaming her, he simply should have given her his portion, then they both would have been happy.

A recent cake that my husband and I made was “bacon topped maple buttercream cupcakes” and, by the way, they were really good. I wouldn’t mind extra portions of that!

値段も見ずにワインをどんどん飲む女にどんびきした。レストランでワインを頼む女性は要注意です。お店によっては、女性が見るメニューには金額が書いていないこともあります。男性が見るメニューには金額を書いてあります。女性がワインを頼むたびに男性はドキッとします
I was turned off of a woman who drank wine like a bear without looking at the price. I would say that we should be aware of women who order wine in restaurants, depending on the restaurant. Prices aren’t on the menu for women, but they are on the menu for men so that whenever a woman orders wine in a restaurant, the man might shudder.

I didn’t know that such “sexist” restaurants existed. Although wine is said to be good for your heart, it wouldn’t be very good for men’s hearts to go to such restaurants and have to spend so much money on the wine. It can get expensive!

クリスマスツリーと一緒に鏡餅も買ってくる女にどんびきした。クリスマスデートをしたら、次に彼氏と会えるのが29日だから……といって、クリスマスツリーと一緒に鏡餅まで買ってくるのは、気が利いているようで“おいおい”ってなるでしょうね。気が早すぎるのです。
I was turned off when she bought ‘kagamimochi’ (a New Years decoration made of rice cakes) and a Christmas tree. She said she bought kagamimochi and the Christmas tree at the same time because she figured the next time we would meet would be after Christmas (the 29th) and too late to prepare for New Years. It was done as a favor, but to me, it was too early and ruined the Christmas mood.

Buying those New Years goods beforehand may be okay, but bringing them on Christmas day doesn’t sound right. Maybe you should have just told him that you would buy them for him and take it to him on 29th, instead. The thought was there, at least. It’s hard for me to understand why this would make you like somebody less.

25日の0時すぎにコンビニでクリスマスケーキの半額交渉をする女にどんびきした。
I was turned off by a woman who desperately asked a convenience store clerk for a 50% discount on a Christmas cake.

Once Christmas is over the surplus of Christmas cakes typically get a huge price drop, but haggling in front of your boyfriend for so long may not appeal to some men. She may have just wanted to impress him, though. The ability to haggle well is quite the talent, actually!

キャンドルの灯りだけで過ごそうとする女にどんびきした。聖なる夜にキャンドルの灯り数本で過ごしたいという女性の気持ちはよくわかります。でも、マンションって気密性が高いので、キャンドルの煙を煙探知機が敏感に察知します。また、一酸化炭素中毒も心配です。どちらもクリアしても、壁紙に煤（すす）のにおいがついて、とれないのです。キャンドルはケーキにつけて、すぐに吹き消してほしいですよね。
I was turned off by a woman who tried to spend our whole night in candle light. I understand her feelings of wanting to spend a romantic night with a couple candles on such a night, but we were only in an apartment. Apartments are so small and compact that the fire alarm could easily go off and I’m also worried about carbon monoxide poisoning. Even though we got over those problems, it could have left a burning smell on my apartment walls. I would really love a woman who only uses candles on cakes and then blows them out right away.

This person has a fear of candles, apparently. It’s sad that he couldn’t light candles in his apartment, but I do understand how small and cramped they could be. After all, Japanese apartments are pretty tiny sometimes! Fire is definitely a legitimate concern too, especially with how closely people live next to each other.

Although I think that the guy responses are a little more shallow than past lady responses that we’ve gone through, I hope some of you are able to learn a little more about what to expect on Christmas, especially if you’re in a relationship in Japan. There are different ideals for a “good” Christmas, and if you don’t know them you could be making your significant other upset without even knowing it.

So, along with the rest of the Tofugu team, we’d like to wish you a very happy Christmas, and I hope you don’t make any of the mistakes listed above. We’ll be on a post hiatus until 2014, so please relax and enjoy the holidays until then!

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Bonus Wallpapers!

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WELL, POOP.

Be glad you’re reading this post because I’ve just illustrated a bunch of holiday gift tags and postcards that you can print out and use! Send your fellow WaniKani subscriber/BFF (of the 5ever kind) a postcard of a jolly Crabigator making a SnowKoichi! Or creep your friends out by mailing them a Kumaman postcard! (Or better yet, send Koichi a Kumaman card!) Get those gift tags printed and stick them on yo presents (pets/annoying little brothers/etc, etc.)!

Have fun printing these out as I did making them, and I hope your holidays are filled with creepy Kumamen and SnowKoichis!

Gift tags!

[Download 1600x1600 Tofugu Gift tag]

[Download 1600x1600 Kumaman Gift tag]

[Download 1600x1600 Textfugu Gift tag]

[Download 1600x1600 WaniKani Gift tag]

Postcards!

[Download 4x6 Tofugu Postcard]

[Download 4x6 Tofugu Postcard]

[Download 4x6 Kumaman Postcard]

[Download 4x6 WaniKani Postcard]

Wallpapers

Tofugu Christmas Wallpaper
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Kumaman Christmas Wallpaper
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WaniKani Christmas Wallpaper
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I hope you all enjoy our version of holiday cheer! Have a great Christmas or holiday or late December — Whatever you celebrate or don’t celebrate!

“Don’t celebrate Halloween in Japan?” Honestly, I was a bit shocked to hear that since Japan is so big into some other Western holidays such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day. As a big Halloween fan, I prepared myself to spend the coming October in a sadly terror-free land (oh, the first world problems ;_;). So, you can imagine my surprise when I was greeted by tacky black cat cardboard cut-outs and plastic jack-o-lanterns in literally every konbini (convenience store) and shopping mall I found myself wondering through.”Well, this is a pleasant surprise.” I thought, thinking back on what my friends had told me. I would have called them liars-liars-pants on fire, however, their claim would have been true only a few years back.

The truth is, Halloween is a very recent development in Japanese culture. That’s right, 10 years ago, Halloween was viewed as the day when scary gaijin (foreigners) would randomly roam the streets in outrageous costumes, haphazardly drink on public transportation, and perhaps accidentally summon satan (or a lesser oni) along the way. Nowadays, however, it’s not abnormal to see people on the streets decked out in their Halloween swag a week before the 31st. In short, it’s taken just a few years for Halloween to effortlessly go from an alien blood ritual to a legitimate holiday with all the toppings. The question is: why?

Japanese Theme Parks: Halloween Ambassadors

Up until about ten years ago, the only sign of Halloween in Japan was the occasional sighting of Jack Skellington on living room TVs. In other words, people heard about it through movies and other popular media sources, but Halloween still remained a foreign concept for quite a long time.

However, that all changed as soon as Tokyo Disney decided it was time to spread the party (and make more moolah). In 1997 Tokyo Disney had its first  ”Disney Happy Halloween,” inviting all guests to take part in the festivities. Although it took a couple years to spread the word, Japanese people started to become excited about this new tradition, and in 2000 Tokyo Disney was able to have its first “Halloween Twilight Parade” featuring 400 visitors and Disney characters in costume.

As Japanese people already had a fascination with Disneyland, it was easy to make the concept of Halloween seem enchanting and magical. Every year after 1997 the Halloween celebration has grown as word of mouth has spread, and now the party starts as early as late September. Of course, Disney isn’t hogging the fun all to itself. In 2002, Universal Studios crashed the party and introduced “Hollywood Halloween,” another major success. Together, these two theme parks have contributed to bringing the Halloween tradition to Japan.

Cosplay: We’ve Already Won This Contest

These girls are looking . . . foxy? Wouldn’t you say?

Although Tokyo Disney and other amusement parks sparked Japan’s interest in Halloween, it would be crazy to owe it’s growing popularity to them alone. Of course, there are other reasons why the tradition has spread like wildfire in the past decade. For example, there are many ways in which Japanese culture nicely meshes with the concept of Halloween, making it easy for the Japanese to adopt it as their own. One of the most obvious points is the appreciation of costuming.

I mean, just think about it. We’re talking about the country that gave the world the gift of cosplay. So, it’s only natural that a tradition involving costuming would catch on eventually. This might be playing into stereotypes too much, but seriously, can you imagine Japan turning down any excuse to run around the streets in a pikachu suit. I can’t.

The fact that many Japanese street fashions fit so seamlessly into Halloween aesthetics also makes it easy for Japanese people to participate in the festivities. Into Lolita fashion? Great! All you need to do is walk out of your front door and you’re part of the party. Plus, who would turn down the opportunity to dress in scantily clad outfits while still being accepted into mainstream society? Apparently, not the Japanese (or anyone else I know for that matter).

Scary Stories? Sure, We’ve Got Them, Too.

Another way in which Japanese culture meshes nicely with Halloween is the fact that it strongly resembles Japan’s own tradition of Obon. “Obon?” you ask. In summary, Obon is a Buddhist tradition in which families honor the return of the spirits of their ancestors. Although Obon takes place in mid-August, it too is a time for appreciation of the supernatural and is sometimes even called the “ghost season.”

As you can imagine, during “ghost season” people are especially aware of scary happenings, and ghost stories can be heard pretty much everywhere. Besides this, the Japanese have always appreciated a good scary story – just take a look at all the horror movies in Japan’s film scene.

Halloween just offers another opportunity to indulge in all the spooky spectacles anyone could ever dream of – just pick you poison. The difference, though, comes from the fact that Halloween is a recently imported holiday and that takes off some of the cultural edge that Obon carries. So instead of terrifying yuurei, or the vengeful spirits of Buddhist tradition, you’re dealing with harmless, and even sometimes cute, obake, or ghosts. For this reason, some people have called Halloween “The children’s Obon.”

In mean, you can actually tell your kids about Casper without mentally scarring them for the rest of their lives. Yuurei on the other hand? *shutters*

Halloween in English Classrooms: Because We Would Die of Boredom Otherwise

As many people know already, English is a required subject in Japanese school systems. Therefore, everyone has to learn it (or at least pretend that they are learning it) these days whether they like it or not. Not only that, but the age in which children start learning their ABC’s was recently lowered from middle school to the 5th year of primary school in 2011. By 2020, they’ll be beginning their English educations in 3rd grade. What I’m trying to say is that children are learning English from a very young age (and it’s only getting younger).

So, what does this have to do with Halloween? Well, I don’t know about you, but at the age of 10 it was pretty hard to keep my attention, and last time I checked, learning English in Japan is just about as exciting as watching an episode of “Days of Our Lives” with your grandmother . . . while waiting in the dentist’s office. So, something had to be done to keep kids semi-conscious during English class, and what better way to do it than by giving them obscene amounts of candy, I mean, by giving them a healthy cultural education.

And so, Halloween was born into the public education system. Thanks to the Japanese school system, no more will your おばあさん (grandmother) throw you into the funny farm when you come home demanding to carve pumpkins together or asking what costume she is going to make you this year. Well, she might consider it, but in all seriousness, cultural education in English classrooms from a young age is vastly contributing to the familiarization of Western holidays such as Halloween.

Halloween in Japan: Putting a Spin on Things

Hooray! So, Halloween has become somewhat of “a thing” in Japan. All my dreams have come true. But, that doesn’t mean Halloween is exactly what you would expect. Like anything else, Halloween has changed a little here and there as it’s crossed borders, and of course, Japan has put it’s own spin on things.

The first thing I noticed about Halloween in Japan is that things are noticeably less scary and a whole lot more “Hello Kitty” (surprise, surprise). You might see a little ketchup-like blood on some costumes here and there, but the scare factor doesn’t reach anywhere near what it is in the USA. I mean, my Halloween decorations include a transparent, mixed-berry scented candle decorated with cripplingly cute black kittens and a plastic pumpkin with a smiley face on it. That was the best I could do.

In general, there is a lot more focus put on merchandising and the novelty of the whole thing, and that gives Halloween a totally different flavor (one can only take so much Halloween Hello Kitty…). For example, on a trip to the grocery store you might see pumpkin shaped bread filled with kabocha, or Japanese pumpkin, seasonally flavored Kit-Kats, or better yet, something like this:

In terms of events there are a few large Halloween parties and parades in Japan such as the Kawasaki Halloween Parade in which about 4,000 people participate by dancing and costuming.  However, don’t be surprised if you hear Rihanna or Lady Gaga rather than the Monster Mash at a Japanese Halloween celebration.

On a smaller scale, there are plenty of Halloween events in various cities. Whether it’s bar crawling events or sexy costume contests, you’re bound to have a blast. Unfortunately however, the tradition of trick-or-treating has yet to catch on except for in a few strictly controlled areas, which in my opinion takes all the fun out of it.

Costumes in Japan are exactly what you might imagine, and more. Common costumes include popular anime characters, full-body suits and onesies, men in cross-play, Japanese fashion trends such as lolita, sexy nurses and cat girls, and well, the plain bizarre. The fun thing about seeing costumes in Japan is that you can see culturally specific things you would never see in other countries. My personal favorite in this group is gokiburi-san (Mr. cockroach). Below is a picture of the Japanese onesie fashion, Halloweenified!

In short, Halloween in Japan is highly commercialized and has a lot to do with seasonal marketing, but it is also a fun way for people to let their hair down without all the cultural subtext. Although it is not celebrated by everyone, it seems that Halloween is gaining significant popularity with each coming year. Personally, I’m very excited to see where Halloween will go and what spin Japan will put on it next.

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Bonus Wallpapers!

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Holiday Overload

Golden Week is a collection of four national holidays within a week. Instead of just giving people those four holidays off, many offices end up closing for about 7-10 days, giving their employees a full week of freedom. Even if they’re not given the whole week, many employees will just take time off anyway. The holiday week starts on April 29th and goes through May 5th.

Since everyone is pretty much free to do what they want during this time, many will take the opportunity to travel. Since everyone is traveling at the same time, places get pretty crowded and travel conditions can be less than ideal. Airports and train stations become flooded with more people than ever and reservations fill up fast. You need to plan way in advance for Golden Week.

AKB48 is here to help.

Unfortunately, Golden Week in Japan also brings a spike in suicides for whatever reason. Suicide hotlines are specially set up during this time in an attempt to prevent these sad and unnecessary deaths.

The four holidays that make up Golden week are exclusive to Japan, so they might not be all that familiar to you. Those holidays are Showa Day, Constitution Day, Greenery Day, and Children’s Day.

April 29th: Showa Day (Showa no Hi)

April 29th was the birthday of the Showa Emperor Hirohito who died in 1989. Until 2006, Greenery Day (see below) used to be celebrated on this day. The purpose of this holiday is to remind Japan of Hirohito’s 63 years of rule and the hardships they faced during those times. This means that the day is more for reflecting on Japan’s past than honoring Hirohito himself.

During his reign Japan saw the end of Taisho Democracy, the May 15th Incident, the February 26th Incident, the rise of Fascism, World War II, the post-war occupation, and Japan’s rise as a world power.

May 3rd: Constitution Day (Kenpo Kinenbi)

As you might have guessed, Constitution Day celebrates the Constitution of Japan. It has been a holiday since the Japanese constitution came into effect on May 3rd, 1947. On this day, Japan is called to reflect on democracy and government. Sounds like a party to me.

May 4th: Greenery Day (Midori no Hi)

This day is a celebration of nature. Japan is supposed to become more in tune with nature and thank mother earth for her many blessings on this day. This holiday indirectly acknowledges Emperor Akihito because he has a great love of plants. However, most people in Japan just see this as another day that keeps Golden Week going and are thankful for that.

May 5th: Children’s Day (Kodomo no Hi)

Designated as a national holiday in 1948, Children’s Day is a day to celebrate children’s personalities and their general happiness. The festival is also celebrated in a handful of other Asian countries as well. It was originally just for boys, but has since been expanded to include girls too. The symbol of this day is the carp, and you’ll see many carp shaped flags flying around during this time.

The carp is part of a Chinese legend stating that when carp swim upstream they eventually become a dragon. The carp are said to represent the children swimming to adulthood and growing as human beings. When the carp flags flap in the wind, they look as if they are swimming.

My Personal Experiences With Golden Week

This street in Tokyo was so busy they had to close it off to cars.

When I was studying abroad in Japan, it was during the spring so we were all there during Golden Week. Fortunately my friends and I planned in advance, so traveling to Yokohama and Tokyo from Kobe wasn’t too much of a headache. Again, I highly recommend planning and booking things as far in advance as you can for this time of year in Japan if you decide to travel during it. You’ll be glad you did.

Now I’ve never been to Tokyo when it wasn’t Golden Week, but I never felt like any place was too crowded or like I missed out on anything or became overwhelmed because of it. I’m sure it’s a different story if you’re flying in or out of the country or don’t already have plans set up, but maybe we just got lucky.

Our lavish two person hostel in Yokohama. Yes, that is the whole room.

I didn’t really see anyone out and about actually “celebrating” any of the individual days comprising Golden Week, so I’m fairly confident that not too many Japanese people really take notice of the individual days and are just stoked to have an entire week off from work. Here’s what some of my friends currently living in Japan have to say about Golden Week.

Golden Week is a blessing and a curse. Sure the extra days off from work are great, but try to actually go anywhere and you’re going to have a bad time. I just use Golden Week to relax and recharge.

I went to the aquarium in Nagoya last Friday. Every restaurant in the city had lines out the door, even fast food places. The aquarium itself felt like it was going to be my final resting place as I was slowly consumed by the mass of Japanese people talking about how delicious the fish look.

And since Golden Week is such a hectic time for travel in Japan, I wouldn’t recommend going there at the end of April or beginning of May. Instead, you should look into Tofugu’s best times to visit Japan. Koichi knows best, after all.

So tell me, have you ever been in Japan during Golden Week? What are your personal experiences with it? Wish you had a week-long holiday in your home country? Let us know in the comments!

Of course, tempura wasn’t the only thing these missionaries introduced (although I’m sure glad they did, because damn, tempura done properly is so good). They also brought over the Christian religion and, not surprisingly, Christmas – which the Japanese have taken to with great gusto.

The Most Wonderful Time of The Year… Unless You’re Single

These days, come December in Japan, Christmas decorations crop up just about everywhere, hymns are constantly on the airwaves, and there’s probably a Godzilla Christmas tree at the local shopping mall. In other words: Christmas is huge in Japan, although in a strictly secular sense.

In any case, free to interpret Christmas any way they like, the Japanese have decided that it is… another Valentine’s day, basically. It’s a day for romantic dinners at expensive restaurants and letting the food get cold because couples are too busy gazing meaningfully into each others’ eyes. You know, that sort of stuff.

This Christmas-as-Valentine’s deal is not a bad idea, I guess, since Valentine’s has pretty much lost all romance in Japan: there’s hardly anything romantic about “obligatory chocolates” (義理チョコ, giri-choko) after all. So hurrah for an actual day for lovers to celebrate!

Of course, too much of a good thing is no good, and the emphasis on having someone special to spend Christmas with can get out of hand. So much so, that if you’re single on Christmas, you’re a “loser dog” (負け犬, make-inu).

But, regardless of whether you’ve got a significant other to spend Christmas with or not, Christmas in Japan just wouldn’t be the same without Japan’s “traditional” Christmas meal: a finger-lickin’ good combo of Kentucky Fried Chicken chased by some strawberry shortcake – Japanese-style, of course.

What Is This Strawberry Shortcake You Speak Of?

Unlike the dense fruitcakes of most other countries, Japan’s unofficial Christmas cake is an airy sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries. That is to say, it’s not actually a shortcake… and strawberries? In winter?

Anyway, this Japanese-style strawberry shortcake was first sold in 1922 by Fujiya Food Service Co., Ltd., although nobody really knows who came up with it in the first place. Some claim that Fujii Rinemon, the founder of Fujiya, brought the idea back with him from the US. Others claim that Kuniteru Kadokura of Colombin Co., Ltd., was inspired by a French dessert.

Peko-chan is Fujiya’s mascot. You’ve probably come across her smiling, tongue-sticking-out face before since Fujiya also makes heaps of other sweets and stuff.

Strawberry shortcake proved so popular that once refrigerated displays became readily available in the 1960s, there was no stopping it. Nowadays you can probably get it from any bakery or convenience store in Japan. It’s such a specifically Christmas dessert, though, that after Christmas, businesses slash their prices drastically to get rid of any unsold strawberry shortcakes. Some businesses may even start dropping their prices on Christmas Eve:

These big discounts and Japan’s youth-obsessed culture meant that not too long ago, women were referred to as Christmas cakes: once past the age of 25, her value as marriage material would drop significantly (because, you know, Christmas falls on the 25th). Like most other countries, though, these days it’s normal for both men and women to marry later.

Season’s Greetings, Folks!

So, how do you plan to spend your Christmas this year? What’s your opinion on Christmas in Japan? If you’ve spent Christmas in Japan before, tell us what it was like in the comments!

DISCLAIMER:
Make-inu is a general term for loser, and its use it not restricted to singles on Christmas.

But even though Japan doesn’t have Thanksgiving the same way we understand it in the US, Japan still has a Thanksgiving holiday right around the same time. It’s called 勤労感謝の日, or Labor Thanksgiving Day, and it’s a national holiday.

It has the same roots as Thanksgiving here in the US – it was once a fall harvest festival, but has since changed in meaning. Nowadays, Labor Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrating workers in Japan.

How can you compare American Thanksgiving Day and Japanese Labor Thanksgiving Day? What’s the same and what’s different? Let’s take a look:

How is Japanese Thanksgiving the Same?

Being Thankful

Both American and Japanese Thanksgiving days both, obviously, focus on giving thanks. In America, it’s more about giving thanks in an abstract sense – giving thanks for the things that have happened to you, the people in your life, etc. – but in Japan, it’s a lot more specific.

In Japan, Labor Thanksgiving Day is about being thankful for workers who do their job and do it well. Sometimes you literally thank those people — school kids sometimes make thank you cards and gifts for municipal workers like police, firefighters, and hospital workers.

National Holiday

In both countries, Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday. In the US, the president “pardons” a turkey, there’s a huge parade in New York City, a lot of businesses are closed, and government services are mostly shut down.

In Japan, it’s not quite as festive, but still very much a national holiday. Most businesses are still open on Labor Thanksgiving Day, but government services are closed down. There are little celebrations all over the country, but none with the spectacle of the celebrations in the US.

How is Japanese Thanksgiving Different?

No Turkey

Sorry Japanese people, but you don’t get enormous, heart-attack inducing feasts the way us Americans do. On the plus side, turkeys needn’t fear the annual genocide they face here in the US.

Political Holiday

While you might get into some heated conversations with your relatives during Thanksgiving in the US (will somebody tell my uncle that the election is over?!), it’s generally a pretty apolitical holiday. It’s pretty hard to politicize big meals and families getting together.

Now Labor Thanksgiving Day isn’t an explicitly political holiday, but it definitely has political implications. Labor organizations across the country take the opportunity to have a conversation about the accomplishments of the labor movement, workers’ rights, etc..

So whether you’re celebrating Thanksgiving Day in the US or Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan, have a good holiday!