Christmas and End of Year, Japanese Style

Tokyo metropolitan feels like a big shopping center to me, especially around the Yamanote line "ring" track. Shinjuku, Shibuya, Shinagawa, Harajuku and of course the Tokyo station. Each of these famous train stops race with each other to have the next big malls, better stores, to attract peoples of all kinds. I have never seen a "sea" of people until I visited these places. Perhaps Mecca is the only place where I will be able to experience this. It is just constant, people coming out of every pores of the street, in and out, minding their own things.

Unlike any other places where Christmas is a mix between the greed of capitalism and festivities of religion, it is all pure fun shopping in Japan. Everyone is into this shopping orgies, packing up all department stores every weekends up to new year. For you who likes to shop, there are two best times to come to Japan actually:
1. Right after New Year (Jan 6-Jan 12). Many things seem to be 50% off, usually winter related items
2. I forgot this one, but I think it is around September or so.

Unlike in the US or Indonesia, 25th of Christmas is the time for lovers and couples to book places in the best restaurants or hotels and spend the night together...hmm......sounds weird, doesn't it? Once again, no religious tones or family gathering whatsoever.New Year on the other hand, is the actual family event. Many Japanese in big cities retreat to their home towns, spending time with their root families.

The first 3 days of New Year, for once things are very quiet usually in Tokyo, and most department stores are closed as well. Maybe everyone is tired of shopping? Also, this is the time for Japanese to eat the traditional food called Ozoni, a soup mixed with vegetables and mochi rice. It tastes good, but trying to eat it straight for 3 days is quite a challenge! The idea is we give our mothers a rest from cooking, so they make this big batches of soup to be eaten over and over and over and over.....Nooooo, hehehe.After that, things return to "normalcy" again, whatever normal means for each of us. Share with me how you spend yours, where ever you are!