My winter vacation just ended, so now I have time to start updating about it. It's going to take a few entries because I did quite a bit over my break. On the 23rd my friend Kirsten arrived in Tokyo. She stayed with me for ten days. We did something or went somewhere almost every day. It was tiring, but it was a lot of fun.

I celebrated my first Christmas away from home this year. It was definitely different, but I was still able to have a fun time because I spent it with my friends. Christmas is almost an entirely commercial holiday in Japan. It is also mostly celebrated on Christmas Eve, which is seen as a romantic holiday and a good time to go on a date. My friends and I decided to compromise on the celebrating and do a mix of American and Japanese Christmas traditions. Here's all of my Christmas photos.

On Christmas Eve, Kirsten and I met with my friends Leslie and Anna. None of us were able to go home this Christmas, so we decided to spend it together. All of us spent the night at Leslie's apartment, so that we could be together. We celebrated Christmas Eve the Japanese way, by eating KFC and a Christmas cake. I'm not particularly sure why this has become a Japanese tradition, but my guess is because chicken is the closest Japan gets to having turkey. (Here's an interesting article about KFC Christmas in Japan.) Not quite the same as a home-cooked Christmas dinner, but it still tasted good. The Christmas cake was especially delicious and very cute looking. We also did a random gift exchange. We set a budget and each bought and wrapped a present. Then we played rock paper scissors to decide which order we got to pick gifts. Somehow we each got a present that was perfect for us. My gift was a cute black and white polka dot scarf. We also listened to Christmas music and colored little Christmas ornaments that Leslie's mom had sent her.

Christmas Day was kind of low key. When we got up in the morning, Leslie made French toast for breakfast. I also got to Skype with Mom, Dad, and Adam back home (where it was still Christmas Eve). It was good to talk with them, but it made me miss them. Around lunch time the four of us girls headed out to Akihabara (another area in Tokyo). We had a big shabu shabu lunch. We ordered four big plates of (raw) beef and cooked it in a boiling pot at the center of our table. There were also veggies, tofu, and delicious sauces to dip all the food in. After lunch we did a bit of shopping in Akihabara.

I have to say that since we celebrated Christmas the Japanese way, Christmas Eve definitely felt more festive than Christmas. Even though I couldn't be home, it was still a good experience. I missed my family, but I'll always be able to say that I've celebrated Christmas in Japan.