Christmas in Japan

Christmas

Before coming to Japan I didn't think that the Japanese would celebrate Christmas, but they do. At work, we had a work Christmas party, called a bounenkai in Japanese. It was held at one of the large hotels in the nearby Disneyland resort.

They also have huge illuminations, like those at Blackpool, almost everywhere at the end of the year. They are not just limited to Christmas themes. For example, I saw a really large wave illumination, when I went with my badminton friends Miho and Jason for our smaller bounenkai. The illumination was amazing. Not only was it huge, with a bell you could ring that set off Christmas carols. There was also a special light display on the hour, when the lights turned on gradually in time with some wave music.

I also cooked an English meal with some of my friends, to get me back into British food before coming back to the UK for 2 weeks, as well as going out for tempura with Miho and one of her friends, Masa san.