Before I continue on in my description of Japanese Christmas, let me indulge in a tangent. My supervisor was kind enough to help me do some banking today, and also to help me do some returns of my own. My parents sent me a little Christmas tree for my apartment, and with it some battery powered Christmas lights. I was perhaps a little too delighted by this present and quickly ran the batteries into the ground (figuratively speaking, as I live on the 3rd floor and did not throw them from my balcony). So on Christmas day I trotted over to the local grocery store and cheerfully bought the wrong size of batteries. Thus I found myself with no Christmas lights on Christmas and a set of batteries that were too large (insert steamy music here).
But fear not, dear reader, with my supervisor's help I went back to the store and she helped me make an exchange for the correct size batteries. There was even an added bonus- this being Japan, there are forms you must submit if you want to return something (even an $8 package of batteries). However the following dialogue unfolded:
Clerk: *looks at both my supervisor and myself* (In Japanese) “How can I help you?”
Supervisor: (In Japanese) “He wants to return these batteries in exchange for these ones.”
Andrew: *smiles obligingly*
Clerk: (In Japanese) “Who is returning these?”
Supervisor: (In Japanese) “He is. He got the wrong size.”
Andrew: *looks politely confused*
Clerk: (In Japanese) “So why are you here?”
Supervisor: (In Japanese) “He doesn't know Japanese.”
Andrew: *Endeavors to look perfectly clueless...this is not hard*
Clerk: (In Japanese) “Well...we usually have some paperwork you would need to fill out...” *looks back at Andrew* “...but I think we can skip that this time.”
And that is the story of how Andrew avoided paperwork by being foreign. I fervently wish this happened more often.
(The three essential things for Christmas in Japan: A miniature Christmas tree, a slice of Christmas cake, and a festively dressed alligator.)
But back to the topic at hand: Christmas in Japan. How do the Japanese celebrate Christmas? The answer is: very differently. Christmas is celebrated mostly by young couples (ala Valentines day) and is a day to go out with your sweet-heart on a date and exchange presents. Thanks to maneuvering by the toy companies, the idea of Santa Claus has also come to Japan. Parents of small children are now beholden to buy their kids presents from jolly old Saint Nicholas. There is no written law to this effect, but with all the colorful store displays cleverly stationed at child-height, there might as well be one.
There is also the Japanese tradition of the Christmas cake. Rock-hard fruit cakes aside, I do not believe we have a similar tradition in America. Anyway, about a month prior to Christmas grocery stores bombard the public with advertisements asking them to order their Christmas cakes. These cakes are invariably white frosted with strawberries on the top. I am not sure why. It seems as though these cakes can be picked up the day before Christmas, although the undiscerning foreigner can still pick up their unordered cake, or slices thereof, from the sweets section. The tradition of the Christmas cake is so ubiquitous in Japan that unmarried women older than 25 years of age may find themselves likened to a Christmas cake left on the shelf after Christmas, never to be bought...er...married. Misogyny aside, I think the cake is still plenty good the day after Christmas and am baffled why no one buys them afterward. (I could do with some more cake right now...)
Another winter tradition here in Japan is to illuminate natural scenery with lights. For example the district of Arashiyama has a winter festival each year featuring beautiful paper lanterns, flower arrangements, and an illuminated bamboo forest.
The mountainside was lit up with blue and white flood lights. It was quite breathtaking.
This festival still had some street-fair qualities to it, so my friend and I stopped to have some light dinner. I indulged in the traditional Japanese dish hot-dog on a stick.
One of the hand-made paper lanterns. There were at least 50 of these on display, some that I could have easily fit inside. Unfortunately this is the only picture that came out clearly.
This is Arashiyama's famous wooden bridge. It was also illuminated by flood lights. I took the first photograph from this bridge. It was host to some incredible views, but the icy gusts of wind along the river made sure we didn't dally too long.
One of the many giant floral arrangements to be seen along the route of illuminated trees and bamboo. This one made me chuckle because of the copious amounts of tinfoil the artist used.
The bamboo forest was probably the most beautiful sight all evening. White, gold, and blue lights made the canopy above us glow as it rustled in the winter winds. My camera really failed to capture the effect, but at least the pictures give you a vague idea of what we saw.
Arashiyama is a bit of a tourist trap, so the main road had many souvenir and knick-knack shops. My favorite shop looked like it made little animals from white paper...later my friend and I realized that these were actually emptied silk worm cocoons. This is a case displaying the entire Chinese Zodiac.
Closer to my apartment the lights took on a more Christmas-y flavor with lit up reindeer and sleighs. I went with my supervisor, her husband, and three small children. Here are some of the pictures I took:
I didn't realize how cool this tree was until I went to edit the photo for my blog. Someone actually affixed strings of lights to every little branch of this tree.
A picture of me with my supervisor (Okamoto Sensei) and her three sons. The kids were adorable and all wanted to speak English with me. The youngest was given a head-lamp to make him easier to find, which had the unfortunate side effect of blinding any person he made eye-contact with.
^^;
Here's the big fountain by the Northern gate of the park. The picture didn't turn out very good, but with the timing involved (the lights and water spout turned on and off at different random intervals) I'd be damned if I didn't post it.
That's all for today. Tomorrow I will start picking over half-typed blog entries from earlier in the year and hopefully get them up for the world to see!
-Andrew
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