Christmas in Japan was all right for me. It didn't quite feel like Christmas, which made it a little odd. After all, it's not even a day off of work for the Japanese, although couples do exchange gifts and there are decorations in the stores.
For lunch on Christmas day, I joined a group of IHOUSE residents in having a sort of pot luck Christmas feast. There were crepes, latkes, yakitori, and other dishes, familiar and international. I was just a mooch--I hadn't planned on joining them, and hadn't made anything, but there was more than enough, so they talked me into sitting down and having some devilled eggs. A good time was had by all. Especially because a British/Belgian girl had been mailed Christmas crackers by her father, so we all got cool paper hats and useless plastic toys. What could be better? I wish we had this tradition in America.
For supper I went with about eight others to an Western-style bar in Nagoya where we got to eat Christmas dinner--turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, etc. It was a very nice time, and before we knew it we'd spent about five hours there.
It wasn't a white Christmas in Nagoya. Actually, it was sunny and warmer than it has been lately, which was nice. We have gotten snow, however. One afternoon I fell asleep, only to wake up and find the image on the left. I'm not sure how much snow we got in inches, but not enough that they would have cancelled school the next day back home. In fact, it almost all melted the very next day. I was very surprised to read the paper later and find out that it was the most snow Nagoya has gotten in 58 years! I guess Nagoya is warmer compared to home than I had realized... I knew they got snow, but I didn't realized they don't normally get enough to even build a snowman with.New Year's is coming up, and it's the biggest holiday in Japan. Not sure yet whether I will stay in and have a quiet evening, or brave the busy world outside, which is sure to be pretty crazy. Until then.
posted by No_Fluff_Reviewer @ 12:49 AM
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