Merry Christmas Yall!

Today is Christmas here in Japan. So Merry Fucking Christmas you bastards! I know a lot of us gaijin living in Japan may be having a hard time finding the Christmas spirit due to the fact that Christmas is not a `real` holiday in Japan. Most of us will be working today(me included). Yet despite the awkwardness many of us may feel during this holiday season, we must make the best of the situation.


I got a few e-mails yesterday from a few of my fellow gaijin expressing a very down and out feeling about Christmas in Japan. As usual, I refuse to let Japan kill the Christmas spirit in my country ass. Instead I have decided to roll with the punches and work with what I got at hand. Yesterday, I planned out a pretty good Christmas evening with my gal. We reserved one of those take-out KFC Christmas dinner packs. Yes, I gave in and did the whole KFC Christmas thing; like I said I am working with what I got at hand. It is actually not a bad deal. We got a good variety of chicken with good old American style biscuits included. For 2,800 yen it makes for a right decent Christmas dinner.


I met the gal in Kita-Senju to pick up the dinner and do a little extra Christmas shopping together. We had already exchanged gifts a few days ago but decided to shop together and buy a little extra something for each other. I can`t get her anything from Tiffany`s like I did last year but I was able to get her something she wanted. It is the thought that counts anyway. It is a nice change of pace to enjoy a Christmas not focused on buying some crazy expensive item. It was really nice to just spend time with the gal. We ended up buying each other a little something. Before we left we picked a couple slices of Christmas cake.

When we got home it was time to enjoy the little fest we had set up for ourselves. We set our little meal up on a table and enjoyed some good chicken and pleasant conversation. I was even able to find a Christmas music complication on Youtube to set the mood.

For some people it all might seem a bit lame but the gal and I really enjoyed ourselves. A quiet evening at home just enjoying each other`s company meant more than any big fancy celebration. I don`t know about the rest of yall in Japan but I am living the real meaning of Christmas this year.

It`s Christmas in Japan Again

Oh yes boys and girls it is that special time of year again here in the land of the raising sun. Lets all get ready for another twisted version of Christmas here in Japan. As many of you may know Japan is pretty much a non-Christian nation. The very idea of Christmas is so far removed from Japanese culture that the holiday has been oddly integrated in the Japanese mindset. In Japan, Christmas is a completely secular commercial holiday. The natives of Japan make no connection to religion and Christmas. For the Japanese, it seems as if Christmas is all about presents, Santa, KFC dinner sets and illumination(Christmas lights), and spending some extra cash in high-end shopping districts like Ginza.

The Japanese secular take on Christmas has produced some interesting customs. Leave it to the Japanese to completely redefine the biggest holiday in the world.


KFC Christmas dinner:
When I first came to Japan several years ago I was surprised by how much Japanese people love KFC. I mean, KFC is deep fried southern style chicken. This is not something I expected Japanese to really go for. Yet, they love redneck chicken. They love it so much that every year during the holiday season Japanese people line up to buy a big KFC holiday dinner set. Deep fried chicken for the whole family!

It`s Happy Christmas in Japan not Merry Christmas:
I guess this one is a simple cultural misunderstanding. They always say Happy Christmas instead of Merry Christmas. I have actually talked to several Japanese about the difference between `Happy` and `Merry.` They don`t see the difference between the two words. They see every western holiday celebrated using `Happy -------` so it makes sense to the Japanese to say Happy Christmas as well. I try to explain to them that merry implies a special spirit connected to Christmas. Having no religious connection to Christmas they miss the point.

Christmas Cake:
This is something I found completely different. I for one had never heard of a Christmas cake until I started living in Japan. Every year all the supermarkets and specialty shops offer up fine quality beautiful cakes to enjoy. Apparently, the Japanese are taking the Christmas Cake tradition from the Brits(at least it appears that way from the Wiki article). It is usually just a fancy sponge cake. I had one last year and it was pretty good. I plan on picking one up this year as well.

Wham! Last Christmas:
In Japan is seems their favorite Christmas song in English is `Last Christmas` by Wham. I often wonder why the Japanese fell in love with a shitty song by a shitty pop band from the 80`s? Almost every place I go in Tokyo I get treated to this damn song. The Japanese seem to care less that the song is not all that good. I think they like it because it has a easy melody and refers to a happier past(the Japanese are obsessed with the past).

A Japanese Christmas is a bit different from what I used to experience in the states but I enjoy the holiday season all the same.

What do you find different about Christmas in Japan?

Shopping for a X-Mas Gift in Tokyo 2008

So, it is that time of year when people start singing silly X-mas songs and stringing enough lights to be seen from the moon. Many people will be taking time out to remember the birth of our lord Jesus...wait a second this is Tokyo X-mas is not about Jesus!

That`s right, in Japan J.C. does not get any birthday wishes with people worshiping at his feet. In fact, most Japanese have very little idea as to why X-mas is celebrated in the first place. What they do know is that the gaijin seem to love the holiday and there is plenty of money to be made. Here in Tokyo X-mas is all about getting gifts and spending large sums of money to impress our loved ones. It would seem that the more money you spend the more love you can express. Store owners know this and usually go all out in a bid to attract customers. With that said I too jumped head first into the holiday shopping madness looking to buy the perfect gift for my honey.

I must admit that I have never bought her anything really expensive before. Now that I do have a little money to burn I thought this year I will buy her something really nice while I have the chance. Now just not any place in Tokyo will cut it when looking to get a kick-ass X-mas gift. The only place in Tokyo where I guy can get that perfect X-mas gift for a special gal is Ginza. This part of Tokyo is famous for its up scale shopping and great restaurants. All the big international high end shops are located in Ginza. As you can imagine I do not venture to Ginza very often. Yet, in my quest to buy something really nice I hopped on the Ginza line of the Tokyo Metro to buy that perfect holiday gift.

I was keen on only one shop for my purchase. Tiffany`s is the only store I could think which can impress even the highest maintenance gal in all of Japan. While my wife is not an extreme example of a high maintenance gal she is expecting something nice. She said that she would be happy with something around 20,00 yen but I know that amount of money will not buy something so good. I decided to go all out and buy something in the 80,000 yen plus range. I have the money right now to spend a little extra so I pulled no punches. I walked right into Tiffany`s looking for something great. Now, Tiffany`s is an expensive place usually reserved for people making some serious cash. As soon as I walked into the place I stuck out like a sore thumb. It is not everyday you see a guy wearing leather biker jacket, tight blue jeans, and black military boots shopping at Tiffany`s. I few of the store attendants looked at me with glaring eyes but I paid them no mind. I had enough money in my wallet to shop there and got to the business of picking out something nice.

They have a lot of really nice things at Tiffany`s. Some of the necklaces look like the kind of stuff royalty would be seen sporting. I felt a little guilty that I could not buy the gal one of those high end platinum necklaces. It would have been really cool to hand her something which cost several thousand US dollars. None the less they did have many things which I could afford. After looking around for a while I finally zeroed in on some nice gold necklaces with diamond charms. They were not extremely high priced but still rather expensive compared to what I am used to buying. The lady behind the counter was quick to start making the sales pitch. She was nice enough but it was obvious that she wanted me to buy something and get the hell out of there. I paid her attitude no mind and asked a few questions before shelling out the cash.

Walking out of Tiffany`s I felt good about what I bought. This is the best gift I have even gotten for my gal. I gave to her this evening and she loved it. When I told her how much it cost she almost cried. It made me feel so good to see her so happy. She stared at it for a long time and showered me with praise. This X-mas is turning out to be one of the best for us. We got a trip to Tokyo Disney Land planned on X-mas day and a trip to Beijing for new years. It`s X-mas in Japan!

The End of The First Year at the Beginning of The End of the Old Year

As December starts two endings and one beginning are taking place. The end of 2008 is at the heels of the world. Another year is passing by just as fast as the last. The ground shook, many people died for no good reason, the price of tea in China is still anyone`s guess, The US government is still crazy as hell, women still do not trust men, men still think that women are too emotional, sex stills feels great and smoking is still legal. Yes, it would seem that 2008 was just like all the preceding years. The end to another year passed-out on the wild ride that is human history. As the year ends so does my first year in Japan; kind of. By the end of December I will have been in Tokyo for 11 straight months. The one time I have left Tokyo was a four day holiday to my gal`s home town for golden week. The end of 2008 also marks the start of my first full year in Japan. So, as the changing of the guard from the old year to the new takes place, yet again I find myself at a cross road about to play host to a cluster fuck collision of time-space bullets trains.

With all the endings and beginnings happening in December I have almost forgotten the fact that soon the weather will be very unpleasant. The winter season has been easy on Tokyo but I can feel that such mercy is coming to a close. Snow fall has already been reported in some of the mountain regions and Mt. Fuji is already fully covered with snow. The evil chill of winter is lurking over Tokyo waiting for the right moment to rain down ice, snow, and murderous cold temperatures. I have experienced winter in Tokyo before but for limited lengths of time. I wonder what kind of effect it will have on my body. I have already had two nasty bouts of the flu but as of late I have been feeling great. The commute to work is gonna become a little more interesting. I am going to have to avoid setting, or standing, next to anyone who is sick. Hell, I have even considered wearing one of those hospital masks the Japanese are so found of these days. Being sick in this city is no fun at all. It really runs my daily energy down lower than the daily rat race does.

Anyway, as December is the time to celebrate the end of one year and the birth of a new I have started setting up a few things for the early part of the month. On the fourth I am planning to go to the Loft in Shinjuku to see the band Lucky 13. I have not been to the Loft in a while so I am looking forward to the event. Also, one of my friends from college is having a private party at a pub or something. She has invited the gal and me for an evening of sucking an open bar dry and all around merry making.

As the X-mas season is now in full swing I have been thinking of how to celebrate this holiday. As I am not a Christian I feel no religious connection to the season. My lack of a spiritual connection to X-mas is actually a bonus for me as the Japanese also have no `special` feeling for this holiday. I will be spared all the `We love you Jesus` stuff and everyone acting as if they are so religious and love the lord. This X-mas it looks as if I will be at Tokyo Disney Land. This was not my idea nor decision. It appears that the gal has taken over full planning rights for X-mas. I had the thought of eating a great dinner at an upscale restaurant but that was a no go because we did that for Thanksgiving. Yes, Micky will be my buddy on X-mas. All the insane happiness that is Tokyo Disney Land will be mine to enjoy. Well, it will not be so bad because the gal wants to eat at the Pirates restaurant at Disney. The place does actually have some good dishes so at least I will eat good.

So, here I am living in Tokyo in December of 2008. Like every month is should be interesting. I am sure that a few unexpected surprises will occur. Some will be welcomed and others not so welcomed. My work load is gonna be an up and down roller coaster ride this month. I am losing faith in management but I feel that they may have lost faith in themselves a long time ago. None the less my need to eat keeps me coming back time and time again.

My deepest and last thought at this late hour is if I will be able to get my hands on a fine jug of Eggnog in Tokyo.