Christmas always feels strange to me in Japan.  It’s a time for couples.  It’s a time for eating chicken and white sponge cake with strawberries.

Just like in the U.K. the shops are playing Christmas music but they are doing it in their own crazy Japanese way.  My local grocery store was playing four things at once today.   “Sleigh Ride” at a really fast speed, “All I want for Christmas”, some squeaky J-pop song, and someone was giving store announcements.  And then at the checkout area the “calorie mate” adverts were playing on little T.Vs.  I should really take earplugs when I go shopping to prevent the feeling that my head is going to explode.

I saw one nativity scene that made me laugh as it had polar bears and penguins. Odd looking Christmas trees are appearing across the city but I haven’t seen any yet that are actually made of tree.