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A Bit of Christmas in Japan

Friday, December 26th, 2008

Although Christmas is not an official holiday in Japan, it is observed in other ways.

On Christmas Eve and Christmas, one can find lines of Japanese standing outside of KFC for a little bit of the Colonel’s Christmas Chicken.

Christmas Cake is a popular item which sells for about 30-50 bucks at convenience stores. It’s also a term used to refer to women over 26.

For young couples, Christmas is a big date night and many of them go to love hotels.

Times must be tough at the North Pole as Santa Claus is forced to lay off his reindeer and resort to Public Transportation. While I was changing trains at a station in Tokyo, I came across Santa doing a milk run in Tokyo trying out the train system.

While Santa’s away, the reindeer will play. See a group of reindeer dance, sing, swear, drink beer, play pool, throw darts, and experiment with their sexuality while on leave in Tokyo.

Dasher gives a drunken rant about being stuck behind Rudolph of Red Nose fame for the last 70 years.

Here are some Holiday-related photos from Tokyo Decandance – a semi-monthly club event which is a melting pot of various subcultures in Japan. This is a photo montage of Tokyo Decadance’s Christmas event. Plenty of interesting folks and some cuties in XMAS outfits.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Fire on the Mountain – Mt. Kurama Fire Festival of Kyoto

Saturday, December 13th, 2008

Mt. Kurama in northern Kyoto comes alive with the fires of hundreds of torches some of them over 15 feet long requiring 4-5 men to carry them. It’s a very old tradition going back to the late 8th Century. The torches are used to guide spirits through the human world to their own world so they don’t stray and cause mischief. It’s a great festival with lots of energy.

http://samuraidave.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/rain-fails-to-dampen-japanese-fire-festival-spirit/

This from the first time I went in 2005:
http://samuraidave.wordpress.com/2007/03/20/japanese-fire-festival-on-kyotos-mt-kurama/

A Tribute to Autumn

Saturday, December 13th, 2008
The following video is a photo montage of my favorite season - Autumn. The photos were taken over several years and come from four different countries: Japan, America, Germany, and the UK. I put in various quotes and poems about ... [Continue reading this entry]