Time flies and Christmas is just around the corner. Some of you must have done most of the preparation, and some may be planning most of your Christmas shopping at the last ditch. Now that my children have grown, the festive celebration has been a formality, and everything is minimal to me. Knowing what’s like Christmas in the west from my experiences living in the West, Christmas in Japan may appear quite different to those who happen to be here in Japan during Christmas.
Christmas is an occasion to have a little bit more special dinner than usual, and it is nothing less and nothing more for me now. In this newsletter, I’ll write about a few tips which may be helpful if you happen to be in Japan at this time of the year.
History
You’ll recognize the similar December scenes which remind you of your home country as long as walking on the streets in Tokyo. People are shopping on high streets busily, but not as frantically as in western countries. It has always been all the same for most non-Christian countries that Christmas was imported from outside the countries, and in Japan, Christmas has been said started in 1552 when the Spanish missionary Francis Xavier landed in what is now Yamaguchi Prefecture and started a mass with his congregation on 24th of December. Edo Shogunate issued a ban on Christianity in 1612, and Christmas disappeared from the public eye until 1873. Much later, department stores and hotels began to sell decorations. It gradually became more of a commercial event than a religious one, becoming established as Christmas as we know it today. Against this background, it has developed into a commercial event in Japan, with gifts, food and, in recent years, illuminations. It has been more than 150 years since the lifting of the ban on Christianity.
New Year’s Day as a family reunion
I should say that the historical aspects are the major reasons for the different scenes at Christmas in Japan, but New Year’s Day is a tradition and the most important event for the Japanese as a family reunion. Japanese people consider the New Year as a family reunion occasion, on the contrary Christmas is the time for having a special dinner with your sweetheart or family and exchanging presents. These things are to do with commercialism.
Chicken is the main Christmas meal
You will be surprised to see people queuing at the shopping centres to buy roasted chickens on Christmas in Japan. It seems to be a unique custom only found in Japan. Roasted beef in the UK, roasted turkey in the US and fish dishes in Scandinavian countries….it seems to be Japan is the only country to eat roasted chicken. The US played an important role in forming Japanese Christmas culture. After lifting the ban on Christianity in Japan almost 150 years ago, the US has been making a strong influence on Japanese Christmas meals. In the US, Christmas is the time to eat turkey, but turkey was not so available when the custom was introduced to Japan. Christmas in Japan is often associated with chicken being used as a substitute for it. The first arrival of KFC = Kentucky Fried Chicken at the 1970 Osaka Expo determined this. At some point in the process of KFC marketing in Japan, fried chicken became the mainstream Christmas meal.
Things to see for Christmas
Wherever you visit Tokyo, you'll see interesting things during Christmas time. You’ll find all kinds of different illuminations at shopping centres. The rapid increase in energy prices this year caused the duration of lighting to be shorter and the number of lights fewer, but there are lots of places you can visit and enjoy. When you visit Tokyo at this time of the year, illuminations and restaurants are things that you can think of. You can expect attractions as follow.
Illuminations
Marunouchi and Roppongi are areas where you can expect beautiful illuminations. In Marunouchi at the west of Tokyo station, there are several places such as Kitte, Shin-Marunouchi building and Marunouchi Nakadori. They are free, and it is fun to stop before or after your dinner.
Dinner
You don’t need to worry about if your restaurant is open around this season. Most of the restaurants are open on the 24th and 25th of December. This season is very important for their business, but please make a booking if you are considering popular restaurants. They can be booked out quickly since Christmas dinner can’t be replaced for another date. They tend to set up special Christmas menus at a higher rate and they may only have set menus. It's advisable to check if you can book in advance. The number of new cases of new coronavirus infection continues to rise, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is increasing its vigilance towards the year-end and New Year holidays. Please pay close attention.
Closing Day
As far as I know, all the department stores are open until the end of the year. But some of the shops will close, so please check individually. I am thinking about writing about the situation in New Year’s time in my next newsletter.
As I said at the beginning, I’ll spend Christmas almost like a normal weekend this year. If I have time, I might go for a half-day hike in the mountains near Tokyo, as I haven't done any mountain hiking recently. I’d better start preparing for the new year since there is not much time between Christmas and the new year. We are always very busy between Christmas and the New Year.
I wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas.