My goodness, what an eventful and different winter break this has been in the 夢の街 that is Tokyo life. Did you know that Christmas time in Tokyo is THE time for couples? My goodness - as soon as you hit around the 23-25th, couples just dot the streets. Everything seem to be in pairs - couples deals (guy buys one gets one free), couples tickets (guy basically buys one pair ticket at the same cost as it would to get 2 individual), restaurants would set more tables for 2 (that guys can reserve) etc. etc. Love was in the air. Literally - even Tokyo Tower had a giant heart that could have been mistaken as an indicator for a love hotel lovingly slapped on its facade.
Unlike the states and other Christian countries where there are still some semblance of the "traditional" Christmas spirit, Japan is commercialism to . Forget Jesus, how about some couple Disney tickets complete with 2 lovely matching heart necklaces? Why you shouldn't have!!
Speaking of Disney, I went to Disney sea on the 19th with some friends. As with all Disney theme parks I've been in, it was quite a magical place. Every ride, every wall, every food stand and bathroom stall is detailed to the last mickey mouse imprint on the toilet paper roll! Color me very impressed! Yup, just like other Disney parks. One thing that DOES separate Japanese Disney from the rest (Besides Duffy, the Japan-only Disney stuffed teddy bear wanna-be) was the feeling of the people. Most people, from the young to the old seemed to be genuinely charmed. What I mean by this is that Japan is the only place where the presence of Mickey Mouse in the area can send grown men kyyyaaahhing like tween girls at a Jonas Bro concert. I've never actually BEEN to a Jonas Bro concert but I assume there are quite a bit of kyyyaaahhing.
Anyways, for people like me who don't have a certain someone that we can lavish all of our money on, Christmas time in Japan is the time for friends. A lot of clubs, organizations etc. have year end parties to commemorate a good year (even though it is called the forgetting the year party). Even if you're not in clubs, some parties are open for everyone so it's not that hard to find other *key word here* single friends. For myself, I went to view some illuminations with niji no kai (the international club) in odaiba as well as some friends in other part of Tokyo. They are all around the town and it's quite beautiful! Gives the city more personality, I say. Finally, for people who don't want to commiserate with other singles, Christmas time is a good time for part time jobs because of the overtime pay.
After Christmas, what's better to do in Winter time then skiing? Well, snowboarding! So that's exactly what I did. I went snowboarding with international/drinking/partying club niji no kai to mount naeba! The mountain supposedly has the longest gondola ride in the world in the Dragondola. It did take something like 20 minutes so that might be legitimate. Anyways, it was my first time actually snowboarding and fittingly, I sucked. My first ride involved me dragging my butt all the way down the mountain. The hotel we were staying at was lovely though. They gave us a lot of delicious food to eat as well as rented us equipment for extremely cheap. Best deal in Japan - hotel F if anyone is interested. I made a lot of good friends as we dragged our butts down the top of the mountain together (yes, I did go to the top) and by the end, I was able to imitate "carving" in the sense that I could turn both directions! haha!
Just before hitting New Years, I went with some friends to comiket. It's supposed to be a huge doujinshi (independent manga artist) convention and there were something like 45k plus manga groups there trying to sell their products. It's too bad I didn't run into any of them though! The place for comiket was HUGE! To get a good picture kokusaitenjijou imagine the great giza pyramid in egypt, now imagine that there is a second identical pyramid next to the first one. Good, now imagine that they are both then lifted about 50 meters off the ground and flip them upside down for good measure. AND THAT WAS JUST THE CHANGING ROOMS FOR THE COSPLAYERS!! Speaking of cosplayers, there were quite a bit this year that braved the cold weather - especially in those school girl skirts - so short! Haruhi and moe blob that is K-on were by far the most popular, although Asuka and Rei also made several cameos! The funniest cosplayer had to be the dude who tried to cosplay Hayao Miyazaki and largely succeeded! LOLOL! My favorite however was Shimako and Yumi from Maria-sama ga miteru. Very kawaii-desu-ne LOL!
Next up on the list, New Years!! This is THE time for family in Japan. Everyone gets together and go to hatsumoude (visit to temple/shrine on the new year and buy lots of good luck charm for the new year), eat some super long soba to connect the passing year with the coming year as well as some VERY expensive food on the first day (called Ozechi) to wish for plenty in the coming year. Coincidentally, Ozechi is where I had my first taste of abalone - it tasted alright, but definitely not worth what it probably cost. My family and I went to some temple where we all bought many good luck charms from the cute shrine maidens that work part time there during the new years to attract even MORE customers. Seriously, some of these temples/shrines are run like businesses! Oh! I also bought a fortune for the upcoming year and it said I will get BEST luck!! Whoo!!!!!!!!! Any disease I have will pass, I will not make a large profit but it will be livable, I will not have any unfixable relationships etc...but apparently the person I am waiting for will still be unbelievable late. I ALWAYS GET THAT ONE, WHY?!!!! Who are you and why are you so late??!!
check face book for hatsumoude pictures and cute shrine maidens.
After the new years, my family took me to Hakone where we cheered on the runners for Hakone Ekiden. The Ekiden is a very famous new years event that has been happening since the mid 1900s where college teams from all over tokyo compete for the honor of racing from Tokyo station to Hakone, at the base of Mt. Fuji in the winter. It's quite ridonculous. My papa happens to be one of the department chair of Tokyo Agriculture U (Nodai) and since Nodai qualified at a measly 12 (there are 20 spots), the Nodai people went out in force to support their runners.
I'd insert lots of cheering with daikon radishes cause that's what Nodai is nationally famous for. Everyone knows the daikon dance.
Anyways, cheering the runners is hard work - we woke up at 5 for 2 days so we can get a good cheering spot and cheer them on when they start at 8. At least the hotel we stayed at had nice hot springs and spas. After everyone's hard work though, Nodai got 5th! Waseda though, who were qualified 2nd finished 7th. Both schools however, qualifed for seed spots next year! Yay!
Whew, and that concludes the first legitimate post for my blog that does not consist of "testing". Hope you enjoyed it and if you read all of it, well, first you deserve a pat on the back, and second, please comment - I love to hear what you think of Japan, your impressions, how you feel, etc.no pressure!
It would seem Japan is a very fast paced place to be in, especially during holiday season. But it saddens me to see that the Christmas season has completely turned into a commercialized fad. Alas, I would not expect it to be celebrated the Christian way anyhow, since most of Japan is non-religious. Aside from that, most of the things you describe seem so exciting. I must say I'm a bit jealous. : P
ReplyDeleteNow, if I only had a significant other to celebrate X-mas with...
ReplyDeletelol - you shoulda come here, we coulda been lonely and single together!! ; ]