This was only my second time to celebrate Christmas in Japan, the previous being 7 years ago. I wanted to get in the spirit, and after much looking around and debating, I fell in love with a tiny little tree at a florist. It was to be my first Christmas tree in Japan, and with a bit of luck, will contnue to grow to use in future years. We decorated it, and hung our Christmas tenugui (traditional cloth hanging) on the wall behind it. The addition of a parcel full of gifts from my family for Daisuke and I, as well as some engagement and Christmas gifts from my Fukushima parents, and carols playing each evening, we felt like it was Christmas.
Oh, and 2 frustrating days of trying to build a Christmas cookie house resulted in a somewhat characteristic table display piece.
In Japan, Christmas Eve is the main event, with couples going on nice dates, and families buying KFC chicken and creamy Christmas cakes covered in strawberries. We settled on the date thing. It was time for me to part with my lovely engagement ring after 2 months, to be resized before we hit the slopes (and it disappears with a glove), so our first stop was k-uno, in Ginza (http://www.k-uno.co.jp/). The store was incredibly packed, so I didn't get a chance to see what my wedding ring will look like. Will have to do that when we pick it up in a few weeks.
After the jewellers, we headed to a cosy restauarant in Omotesando which I'd been looking forward to ever since I had made the reservation, back in October. Our reservation was for the Christmas buffet, complete with Turkey, Ham, Chicken, veggies and gravy, as well as lots of veggie friendly dishes, my favourite being baked tofu on a base of stuffing. Oh, and then there were the desserts! Pies, crumbles, cakes, slices...Yum! With some beer, eggnog and a bottle of wine at our table, we settled in for several hours of eating and drinking, with carols playing softly in the background. It wasn't home, but it was the next best thing for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos, as we were too busy drooling and scoffing it all down.
By the time we left, we were in need of a big stroll through Omotesando, with all the illumination up, couples walking hand in hand, friends out and about, shopping and dining, and to top it off, Santa's riding by on Harleys. I really love Tokyo, it's such a nice city to be in.
Our Christmas day was quite low key, but it was too cold to be much else. A spot of shopping and lunch out, skype date with the fam which was nice (gotta love technology!), followed by a hot tub and dinner made for me.
On another note, I was at a Christmas party with some friends a couple of weeks ago, and a toast was made. The friend stood up and as we held our glasses in the air, she said "Here's to a boring 2012". Most of the people in the room, in Ibaraki, just under Fukushima, where I was during 3/11 and the 24 hours after that, either smiled and nodded in agreement, or spent a couple of seconds reflecting on how our world has changed this year. For my friends in Japan, many of their lives have changed in a way that I could not even have imagined before. People are struggling. But not just in Japan, everywhere in the world people are struggling with so many things, whether it be the loss of a loved one, illness, displacement, the list goes on. Some wonderful things have happened though, in particluar a friend's baby being born after 4 years of trying, my sister's wedding, my engagement, and most importantly the realisation that life is short and can change unexpectedly at anytime. Smiling instead of frowning, talking to a person in the street, and appreciating every moment you have and especially the quality time you have with those around you. I like this new year's resolution, and I hope that all of my friends and family, all around the world, have a "boring 2012 (with some excitment in there at times)".
On that note, I must start packing for our New Year's eve snow trip and our New Year's celebrations with the in-laws.
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