Christmas in Japan

The weeks leading up to Christmas in Japan are much the same as in America.  As soon as Halloween is over, the Christmas decorations go up.  And I mean literally as soon as Halloween was over; I had been hoping to get some discounted Halloween decorations but no luck—on November 1^st it was too late.  All of the stores had removed their Halloween stuff (where did they put it all I wonder?) and started putting their Christmas stuff out.  Some of it was pretty standard fare, color-coordinated Christmas tree lights and ornaments a la Martha Stewart, but some of it was also more distinctly Japanese.  I found some gorgeous Christmas cards with famous Japanese landmarks decked out in Christmas regalia.  I haven’t seen any Christmas tree farms here, which is probably a good thing, since I’ve heard Japan is already the world’s biggest importer of lumber—a lot of which goes towards making the disposable wooden chopsticks I feel guilty about using in restaurants.   I think Christmas here is not as family-oriented as it is in the US, and I’ve heard rumors that the traditional Christmas dinner is usually a KFC dinner.  Indeed, since Halloween all of the KFC Colonel statues have been wearing Santa costumes.  Because Christmas in Japan lacks any religious overtones, there are also some items I can’t imagine seeing in department stores in the US.  I was amused to see figure-flattering reindeer and Santa outfits for women and reindeer “poop” (presumably chocolate covered raisins) sold with the slogan “Have a poopin’ Christmas”.

Yesterday, I took another trip to Odaiba with a friend, where the Christmas decorations on the docks are out in full force, and got a picture of Godzilla, complete with glowing red eyes, attacking a Christmas tree along Tokyo Bay (I still can’t add pictures in with text, but I’ve updated the Pictures).  I think we’ve all seen the reindeer figures done in Christmas lights in people’s yard displays, but if I find a Godzilla figure done in Christmas lights, I’ll have to buy it.  The weather was very nice yesterday, and Odaiba was wonderful, even aside from Godzilla.  I went back to the delicious Indian restaurant, and this time they were having a lunch buffet complete with vegetable curry and saffron rice.  Afterwards, we walked along the docks, and apparently it was bring-your-miniature-dog-in-costume-day, so there were lots of people pushing strollers, some with kids, some with dogs in costumes.  My friend got a great picture of a tiny dog parading around in a pink tutu.  On the docks they also have some shows, with magic tricks and such, and last time, a gaijin man juggling on a five-foot tall unicycle wearing a helmet with a plane on a string flying in circles around his head and blowing bubbles.  It was quite a sight.  Anyway, after watching part of the show it was time for shopping in Venus Fort, which my guidebook calls a shopping experience for women.  It was great—there was a Lego store and everything.  Unfortunately, it being a school night, I had to head back to Omiya after that.  But since I haven’t made it to the onsen with cleaning fish yet, I’ll have an excuse to take another trip to Odaiba when I return to Japan in January.  And in the meantime, I’ll keep my eyes peeled for Godzilla Christmas ornaments.