My son is in hardcore study mode right now as he prepares for his important high school entrance exam in February. On Saturdays I’ve taken to driving him to his four-hour juku school then killing time working in a nearby mall, part of the new wave of American-style shopping centers that cropped up in Japan over the last decade. For the past month, the mall has been decorated from top to bottom in colorful Christmas lights, with images of “Santa-san” inviting visitors into shops to make purchases. Although only around 1% of the population of Japan reports themselves as Christian, Christmas is a very popular day in Japan, a time for having a special family dinner while parents and grandparents spoil children with presents from Toys “R” Us. (Incidentally, in Japan the toy retailer represents the backwards “R” in their logo by writing one of the characters in hiragana instead of katakana, in case you were curious.) After Valentine’s Day, Christmas is the most important day for couples, and if you want to visit a Love Hotel for some private time together be prepared to wait a couple hours for a room to open up. Between kids and couples enjoying a special date, Christmas is also a very profitable time of year for Tokyo Disneyland.
(Incidentally, J-List has a special Christmas greetings card for you in PDF format. Print it out and put it by your desk at work if you like. Merry Christmas from all of us at J-List!)
Christmas is a time for beautiful lights and a special date.
