Christmas Lights in Japan

Christmas is approaching, and in Japan that means one thing: lots of pretty twinkling lights. Throughout the country there are hundreds of romantic light displays that offer beautiful illumination and imagery for the Christmas season. In Tokyo, you can visit places like Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Tower or Shinjuku’s Terrace City to take in these beautiful light displays, which are especially popular with couples, who plan a special evening at one of these “date spots” on Christmas Eve, considered the most romantic night of the year. In Yokohama’s famous Yamashita Park you can visit Perry Joriku Hikari no Michi, translatable as the Shining Street of Admiral Perry’s Landing, which commemorates the coming of Admiral Perry and his Black Ships with beautiful Christmas lights. This seems like an odd thing to celebrate, but I guss it’s no stranger than the robot sister of Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy) being named Uran, meaning “uranium,” an unexpected move for the only people who have experienced an atomic bombing first-hand. Just one of the many ways Japan confuses us foreigners.