Darin’s Blog

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It’s been a long while since I last updated; I’ve been sick, busy with school, and also working on a few side projects — more on that later.

Christmas in Japan is always a weird experience for me.  The loss of Christ replaced with mas consumption in American Christmas has gotten it’s share of the spotlight, but in Japan there never was a Christ in Christmas as Japan has never been a Christian nation or had much of a Christian population. Yet no matter where you go, there are Christmas Tree’s, Christmas Music, Christmas Lights, Christmas Colors, and of course, Christmas Shopping. Takashimaya Times Square, a major department store in Shinjuku the nearest part of real Tokyo from where I live is bustling with people to see the lights and shop for their loved ones.

In Japan, Christmas generally isn’t spent with families, but instead spent as a couple. During the bubble, or so I’m told by the TV, Christmas Eve was all about spending as much money as possible, the hotel suite your boyfriend took you to on Christmas Eve (not room, suite) was a major status symbol for the women of the office. The evening would start out with a luxury rental car that the couple would take around town to see the illuminations before an incredibly expensive dinner at the best hotel and would close with ‘lights out’ at the hotel suite. According to the TV, these nights would cost over 10,000 USD and all the good hotels were booked by June for Christmas Eve. (I wonder though, how does one’s girlfriend react when you take them out on a wonderful night that required reservations in June, when you only started dating in say September? Were the reservations made with an ex-girlfriend in mind? Or perhaps the single man made them with the hopes that someone would come along by then?)

After the bubble burst though, Christmas Eve became to be all about spending as much quality time as a couple while spending as little money as possible. A quite evening at home with a home cooked meal became the subject of discussion at the office the next day for the girls.

Now the economy is on the rebound, so people spend more money than they did just 10 years ago on Christmas Eve, but it’s still nothing like the extravagance that was 20 years ago in the bubble. But what hasn’t changed is what Christmas is all about in Japan, couples. Christmas is a time for couples, not for families; that’s what New Years is for. Christmas and New Years are pretty much the opposite in Japan and America, one holiday for couples or friends, the other for families.

As for me, I spent my Christmas Eve with a Starbucks in hand waiting for an hour and a half at the Shinjuku Crispy Creme Donuts stand for a box of 12. Then proceeded back home with my desert donuts and ordered a Pizza and watched a movie. I had the left-over donuts for breakfast and spent Christmas Day at home sleeping until noon and then working on some school projects.