Christmas isn't much of a family holiday in Japan. Some families celebrate baby Jesus' pagan birthday bash with a Christmas cake, but the big tradition among young people these days seems to be the Christmas date. I just discovered Michael Downey's excellent blog (covering the diverse subjects of Japan, philosophy, and bioluminescence) this evening, and he has a great post on it.
That’s right. For couples and lovers, Christmas Day is the day of the year to spend time together. According to JapanToday, 63% of people want to find a boyfriend or girlfriend over Christmas, the majority saying that Christmas ‘is the season of love’ (JapanToday). It’s not surprising considering - the commercial aspect of present-giving mixed with the rosy fantasy-land of upmarket places like Ginza and the Tokyo Bay area create the perfect atmosphere for spending time with that special person.
My dating here tends to ebb and flow- I go to an event, meet girls, go out with one of them once or twice, realize that something doesn't really click, take a break for a while, and then repeat. Somehow, this week turned into a big flow; I ended up with three solid days of dates, and if I didn't have year-end parties to go to, I suspect there would be more. Tonight was with Miyuki, the girl I went out with last Monday.
The absolute best way to see the night unfold is to click here, or watch the slideshow below. Make sure to turn on captions!
Wall-E exceeded expectations, kind of like every Pixar film I've seen to date. It was simultaneously beautiful, hilarious, and a strong commentary on consumerism, all with a ton of kid appeal and very little dialogue. It was awesome to see my friend Tara's name in the credits! I told the Japanese kids about Pixar's beautiful Emeryville campus, and they couldn't believe it- only top government ministry officials get the kind of amenities tech firm employees take for granted in the states.
I'm scheduled for another date tomorrow, with a girl I met at Friday's three-month-anniversary nomikai. I feel pretty good about Miyuki, and we're going out Christmas (the day after), so tomorrow's looking to turn into more of a casual friend-type expedition out to Yokohama. I find that most people here take romance slowly enough that backing a date into a platonic thing is a non-issue.
Oy, it's really time for bed here. Night!
