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 1st 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.
