Christmas in Japan is a little different then in the US. It is more of a holiday for couples and since it's not a national holiday, most people still have work. Being that the country is mainly Shinto, most people don't really even know the meaning of Christmas. It's funny because often as the holiday approaches, if I talk with a single Japanese guy he'll complain about Christmas and tell me how he's not Christian and why it's celebrated in Japan. However, if you talk to that same guy next year when he has a girlfriend, I'm sure his view is very different.
Japan is good at taking other countries ideas and improving on them. Christmas lights is defiantly one of those areas. While I always appreciate the simple displays that I have seen in the US, Japan really takes them a step further decorating a single tree with over a million lights. There are displays all over Tokyo and many of them are advertised and shown on TV or in magazines so people can plan their visits.
As for me, since my family is in America, and my host family had work, I headed to work to celebrate with my "work family". It was pretty much a regular day except that we had a ton of food and it was much more relaxed.
Here are a couple cool 360 degree views of illumination throughout Tokyo.
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