Japanese toilets

Japan has always been associated with technological advancement. Even the humble toilet is not free from technology. 


Most foreigners on their maiden trip to Japan are intrigued by the Japanese toilet. 

The toilet here is no less than a throne. Firstly, it comes with seat heater, to keep your butt warm when you are doing your "business". Next, the toilet seat comes with a bidet, a shower for cleaning and sometimes also with a dryer. Some models may even have a deodorizer and a Flushing sound button to filter out any sounds that may cause embarassment. (Sometimes this is also termed as Etiquette bell.) 

Operating the bidet/wash and dry functions is through a panel of buttons usually attached to the side of the toilet seat or sometimes to the wall. Pictures on the buttons tell it all. Like most other Japanese equipments, this comes with a long list of instructions, mostly in Japanese but accompanied by English most of the times. And the functions come with a sensor attached to the toilet seat which ensure that unless the user is seated the functions don't work. 


Toilets also have the toilet papers. Toilet papers in Japan are designed to be flushed in the toilet and not to be put in the garbage bin.  


Toilets come with baby rest seats- a boon for people with infants. 


These toilets are found almost everywhere in Japan, be it shopping malls, hotel rooms, restaurants, railway stations, airports, public rest areas and even in some parks.


 Most new homes are equipped with these bidet toilets or washlets as they are known. 

The traditional Japanese style squat toilets are commonly found and the older generation still prefers them to the new Western style toilet.  


While almost everything in Japan comes for a price, using these hi-tec toilets is still free of cost. 

Valentine's Day in Japan

There is a unique way of celebrating Valentine’s Day in Japan. In fact, Valentine’s Day is celebrated over two days -14^th February and 14^th March.

On 14^th February, women in Japan give gifts to men. In return men give gifts to women on 14^th March. Chocolates are the most favourite gifts for this occasion followed by cookies. In fact, it is believed that the true emotions are not conveyed if chocolates are purchased to be gifted. That is why many young girls, prepare chocolates or cookies for gifting to their boyfriends. The kind of chocolates which women give to boyfriends, lovers or husbands are called “Honmei – choco” and these are special. Also there is a tradition among women to gift chocolates (or cookies) to their male co workers, close male friends and bosses. These chocolates are called “Giri – choco” meaning Obligation chocolates and are not associated with romance.

Another name for chocolates gifted among friends is “Tomo choco” which is an abbreviation for “Tomodachi chocolate” (Tomodachi is the Japanese word for Friend).

14^th March is also called as White Day and as such most men gift White chocolates to their girlfriends, lovers or wife. It is said that the White Day tradition began in the 1978 as a marketing attempt by chocolate manufacturers. It was started as an Answer day for gifts received a month earlier.

I had first heard of this White Day celebration last year when were living in South Korea. There men gift non chocolate candy to women on this day. In fact single people who did not receive any gift on February or March 14 go to a restaurant on April 14 to eat “ Jajangmyeon or  Black noodles” as mourning of their boring single life !  As such April 14th is called “Black Day” in Korea though it is not as popular as Valentine’s Day or White Day. 

Setsubun - Spring is just round the corner

Somewhere towards mid January, most Departmental stores in Japan start displaying a variety of beans and nuts. At times an image of an ogre like creature is displayed near the beans. This is an indication of the approaching “Setsubun” or Bean Throwing festival.

Setsubun is the day before the onset of spring in Japan and is celebrated on the 3^rd of February each year. Setsubun means seasonal division and signifies the onset of a new season. But the onset of spring is considered the most important day and as such Setsubun often refers to the Spring Setsubun. Like most other traditions, even Setsubun owes its origin to Chinese custom called “Tsuina”.

Traditionally, people throw roasted soybeans known as “Fuku-mame” outside their homes and by doing so they throw out the demons or evil from their homes. This is a kind of cleansing act. It is usually the head of the family, usually a male member who does this ritual. While doing so, the other family members chant “ Oni wa soto, Fuku wa uchi”. This means “ Demons out and Luck inside the house”.  Then the door is closed to keep the demons out. This bean scattering ritual is called “Mame-maki” and the demon is called "Oni". The demon is potrayed differently in different parts of Japan, but is usually potrayed as a male with curly hair, sharp claws, two long horns and sharp teeth. At times shops display the Oni masks around this time of the year.

These days the mamemaki ritual is not commonly followed, but people still take home the Fuku-mame to purify their homes from misfortune and bad health. The roasted soybeans are eaten on this day to bring luck. These days sugar coated or plain raw peanuts are substituted for soybeans. Now a days, it is common practice for families to visit a shrine or temple during the spring festival and participate in the bean scattering ritual performed by the priest.  On the festival day, people usually eat “Makezushi” a rice roll. 

This rice roll is also called “Eho-maki” which means Lucky Direction roll. Traditionally people face the lucky direction as per Chinese zodiac for the year.

Like most other festivals, our daughter’s kindergarten celebrated the Setsubun festival. 

Children made Oni crowns and masks from cardboard and paper with help from their teachers.

 They were also given peanuts to bring home as part of the festival ritual of eating them on this day. 

Setsubun is not a national holiday in Japan. 

Coming of Age Day

Today is a big day.. especially for 20 year olds! It is the “Coming of Age Day” known as “Seijin No Hi” in Japanese. In Japan, people attain majority at the age of 20. It is the age when they can vote and perhaps of more importance to them is that they can smoke and drink and also marry without seeking parental consent.

This tradition has been followed since ancient days and at the time it was known as “Genbuku” which was celebrated by the royal family their family members who had turned adults. In those days the young adults were given adulthood clothes and hairstyles and the family visited the shrine of their patron kami to seek blessings for a good future. The origin is believed to be in 714 AD when a prince changed his attire to court robes and sported an adult style hairstyle and marked his passage into adulthood. During the Heian period only the noble family and samurais followed this tradition. During the Edo period, the adulthood age for boys was 15 and for girls was 13. The age of 20 was adopted to be adulthood age in the 19^th century. 

This day is a national holiday in Japan and each year it falls on the second Monday of January. Till the year 2000, this day was celebrated on January 15 each year. This day is to congratulate young men and women who have attained the age of 20 and to encourage them to realize their passage to adulthood and behave like responsible adults. Till recent years people who had attained the age of 20 during the period from the previous year’s Coming of Age Day to this year’s Coming of Age Day celebrated this day. I am told that now the day is celebrated for people who have attained or will attain age 20 from April 2^nd of the previous year to April 1st of the current year.

The local city governments hold a special ceremony called “Seijin Shiki” on the morning of this day and all the people who are eligible to celebrate this day and live in that area are invited. At times some small gifts are given to the attendees in honour of their turning adults. Now a days many companies hold parties and hand out presents to all the employees who have turned or will turn 20 that year. Young adults also celebrate this day with their friends and family with parties.

On this day, many young girls dress in fancy kimonos and sport befitting hairstyles. This kimono is special and is called “Furisode”. It has long sleeves – about 40 inches in length and is worn by unmarried women. Most often parents gift this Kimono to their daughters on the occasion of Seijin no Hi. Since this kimono is expensive, many young girls prefer to rent it for the day. Also since draping the kimono is difficult, many girls prefer to go to a salon to dress up and also get the traditional makeup and hairstyling done. Wearing this kimono is an indication that the girl is an adult and is unmarried. It is usually worn on special occasions like family weddings etc. The traditional footwear that goes with the furisode is the Zori – Japanese sandals made of rice straw or other plant fibres and these days also synthetic or plastic.

Some young men wear a traditional kimono with a “Hakama” – special clothing worn from the waist to ankle. But most young men prefer to wear Western style suits and ties.    

Oshogatsu - New Year in Japan

Akimashte Omedeto Gozaimasu to all of you out there.

"Akimashte Omedeto Gozaimasu" is the Japanese greeting for New Year. It  means Good luck or congratulations for opening the New Year. The younger people shorten this greeting to “Aki-Ome” when wishing their close friends. But if said to an elderly person, then raised eyebrows are guaranteed.

New Year  known in Japanese as “Shogatsu” or ”O-shogatsu” is the most important holiday in Japan. In fact some companies have a winter break around this time of the year and are shut down from December 29^th to January 3^rd or 4^th.  Most businesses shut down from January 1 to January 3. Families typically gather to spend the days together.

Like Chinese culture, even in Japan, traditionally each year is viewed as completely distinct from the previous year. Each new year provides a fresh start and as such all old year’s duties have to be completed before the year end. However the Chinese New Year is not celebrated in Japan. The Western New Year was adopted as the New Year somewhere in the 19^th century.

New Year is family time and usually people travel to their hometowns and spend the holidays together. The new year preparations begin few days before and all family members together clean the homes for the New year. This is called “O-Soji” meaning “ The Cleaning” and it is similar to Spring cleaning in western cultures. It is also a time to throw out unused things or junk and garbage disposal areas reflect this.  Back home in India, we used to do this around Diwali- the Indian festival of Lights.

Homes and entrance gates are decorated with "Kadomatsu". This ornament consists of a pine branch symbolizing Longevity, a bamboo stalk symbolizing prosperity and a plum blossom which symbolizes nobility.

Nowadays with Christmas being popular, Christmas decorations are also popular especially in homes with young children.

There are family gatherings, visits to shrines and temples and meeting up with close friends and relatives. Younger family members are given money in special envelopes. This allowance is called “Otoshidama”. It is popular custom to exchange gifts with close friends and family members on this occasion.

New Year's eve known as “Omisoka”, is a busy day and usually people do the O-Soji on this day. The New year dinner is also special and supposedly the largest dinner of the year. The speciality of this dinner is the “Toshi-koshi soba”. This buckwheat noodle preparation is supposed to symbolise the crossing over from one year to next. These noodles also symbolize longevity and traditionally these are eaten around midnight. Nowadays families prefer to go out to restaurants for dinner and western style food is very popular. Restaurants have special new year menus. Another belief is that cooking during the first three days of the new year is not auspicious and hence families prepare food in advance for eating during these three days. This is called “O-sechi” which means New Year food. Nowadays more and more people prefer to buy “O-sechi” rather than making it at home. Most stores sell the “Osechi” in bento like divider boxes. These colourful boxes are a sight in themselves and tend to be expensive.

In recent years, a television show called “Kohaku Uta Gassen” is telecast on NHK television and radio . This show telecast on New Year’s eve is highly popular among the people. It features many celebrities, primarily actors and singers and pop stars performing in a kind of contest. The pattern is interesting. The male and female participants are divided into two groups- “Shirogumi” meaning White team comprises the male participants and “Akagumi” meaning Red team comprises the female participants. The popularity of this show is such that it is said that upcoming singers consider it to be a honor to be invited to participate in the show. The songs which are performed are decided after survey among viewers. This show spans over 4 hours. Each team has about 25 participants and this explains the 4 hour duration of the show. The winning team is selected by the audience voting and panel of judges which again comprises notable celebrities. The popularity of this show which began in 1951 has been declining in the recent years with more and more youngsters preferring the New Year eve parties.

It is believed that January 1^st is a very auspicious day. Viewing the first sunrise of the year is a very popular activity and it is called “Hatsu-hinode”. Many spots in Japan are famous for the sunrise viewing. Matsushima in Miyagi Prefecture is one such popular place in Tohoku region and as such hotels in Matsushima are crowded at this time of the year. Since the first day of the New Year, called “Ganjitsu” in Japanese is a representative of what the year ahead will be, people spend the day doing their favourite things, having fun. People don’t prefer working on this day as they feel the year ahead will be a year full of work related stress and they will have to slog. In a country which is reputed for its “workaholic attitude” this does seem strange!

As per tradition, three Shinto shrines or Buddist temples are visited on the first day of the New Year. This custom of visiting shrines or temples is known as “Hatsumode” and visiting three shrines/temples is called “Sansha Mairi”. At the strike of new year, many shrines and temples ring the bell repeatedly. In some shrines the bell strikes 108 times as it is believed that 108 earthly desires are the cause of human suffering and each strike is for overcoming these desires in order to attain enlightenment. Many people visit the shrines or temples at midnight. Infact many temples or shrines are popular for their Shogatsu crowds – Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine, Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari shrine and Kamakura’s Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrines  are reputed for the New Year visits. Infact more than a million visitors visit these shrines during the first three days of the Shogatsu !  Many shrines have a tradition of burning the lucky charms which visitors have offered in the previous year. People also buy lucky charms for New year for good luck.

Even the Imperial Palace has a special New Year tradition. At sunrise on the 1^st January, the Emperor worships the four quarters – offering prayers in the direction of various shrines and tombs. On the 2^nd of January, the Emperor makes a public appearance and when the Imperial Palace inner grounds are open to public. This is one of the two days in a year, the other being the Emperor’s Birthday (currently December 23^rd). The Emperor flanked by the other members of the Imperial family makes an appearance on the balcony of the palace, makes a small public address and waves out to the crowd below. The crowds wave Japan flags and cheer “Banzai” meaning Long Live the Emperor. In fact this routine takes place a few times during the day.

At workplace too, New Year celebrations are common. Friends and co workers usually get together in a year end party called “Bonenkai”. Bonenkai or "Forget-the-year Parties" are held throughout December. It is held with the purpose of leaving the old year’s troubles and worries behind and to begin the new work year with new hopes. There are also New Year parties called “Shinnenkai” which are “Welcome the year parties” and these are usually held in January. Since these parties are not family events, these are generally not held during the Shogatsu holidays.

Tips for Tourists:

1. New Year holiday is a peak travel period in Japan and public transportation, highways and airports are crowded. Hotel reservations are also very difficult during this time of the year. Many Japanese people travel to hometowns and as such highways are crowded and traffic is slow.

2. Many tourist attractions are closed on certain days during the Shogatsu holidays, especially on 1^st January. The closure days are not common and some sights may be open and others closed. However temples and shrines are not closed but they can be crowded and have long queues. Many shops

3. Shops are usually closed on January 1 or may be closed for certain hours of the day. But usually shops are open on other days during the Shogatsu holiday. Some shops are open even on January 1 especially in big cities but they tend to operate with skeletal staff.

4. Even many restaurants are closed on few days during this holiday. January 1^st may usually be the closure date having had a peak day on December 31^st. However fast food joints, restaurant chains and restaurants in big hotels and malls are generally open.

Japanese Etiquette - Greetings and Wishes

The Japanese culture gives a lot of importance on greetings. It is considered appropriate behavior to greet someone when you meet them, when you are introduced to someone or while leaving and even if you see a neighbour from a window or even from a distance. Neighbours driving past you in their cars nod their heads in greeting and it is considered polite to reciprocate with similar gesture. As a matter of fact, not greeting someone whom you know when you see them is considered an insult.

Shaking hands is not common among Japanese. Touching members of the other sex is also not common. As such greetings are generally accompanied by bows befitting the situation and level of formality. However these days, it is common to see Japanese offering their hands for a handshake especially when interacting with foreigners.

People are expected to display a certain level of politeness, vigor and energy when greeting others. A lazy or casual attitude does not convey the emotion intended by the greeting.

Some common greetings which are used in daily life are:

Ohayo Gozaimasu: Good morning. This greeting is used from early morning till about midday or at most noon.

Konnichiwa: This popular Japanese greeting is the equivalent of Hello or good day. It is used at any time of the day especially from mid day to evening.

Konbanwa: This means Good Evening and is used from evening to night.

Oyasumi Nasai: This means Good night and literally translates as “have a Good rest”.   

Omedeto Gozaimasu: Congratulations. This is also used with addition of few related words for wishes on occasions like birthdays, weddings, promotions etc.  

Arigato Gozaimasu: Thank you.

Ganbatte Kudasai: Good luck or All the Best. This literally translates to “Please Do your best”

Dou ita Shimashte – “You are welcome” as in when responding to someone thanking you.

Irasshai or Irasshaimase: This is used to welcome visitors to your home or some place where you are the host. Irrashaimase is usually restricted to use in business environments, restaurants and stores. It is the most common greeting which store employees use when they see customers. When welcoming guests home the term changes to “Yokoso Irrashaimashta”.   

The “Gozaimasu” and “Nasai” are used in more formal situations and are considered as polite speech. Especially noticeable is that the sound of “u” in Gozaimasu tends to be more stressed upon when the situation demands extreme politeness.  The Gozaimasu and Nasai are usually dropped when speaking to children.

Japanese Etiquette - Bowing

It has been almost 8 months since we moved to Japan. By now I have got a fair idea of certain Japanese customs and etiquette. In a country where lot of importance is given to public behavior, accepted mannerisms and etiquette, it is impossible not to learn these mannerisms. In fact there are set rules on what is acceptable and what is not. We foreigners are not expected to know all of these but for sure it helps in the long run to behave like the Japanese.

One of the first things that we notice about the Japanese is their bowing. Infact this is one of the things that most people outside Japan associate with the Japanese. This action is actually more prominent in the entire East Asian region especially in China, Japan and Korea. Bowing is actually a traditional way of greeting in these countries and it implies giving respect. It is also a way to express apology and gratitude.

The act of bowing is called “O-jigi” in Japan. This act is considered to be of utmost importance. The type of bowing varies on different occasions. At first foreigners don’t see the difference. Spend a few weeks in Japan and it is easy to distinguish between the different types of bowing.

The most informal or common bow is to bend at the waist with back straight and eyes down. Males keep their hands at the side while women keep them on the lap. To express a deeper emotion and higher respect the bow should be longer and deeper. The formal bow is a slightly more deeper while the most formal or polite bow is much deeper and longer. The most informal bow is only a small nod of the head with a slight bending of the waist.  A friend explained it to me as informal bow is at 15 degrees, formal is 30 degrees and most formal ranges between 45-90 degrees. How scientific!

Seniority and superiority also are of utmost importance in bowing. Younger people bow deeper and longer when bowing to older people who reciprocate with slightly lower and lighter bows. At workplace, subordinates bow first and usually deeper and longer. At times superiors may not reciprocate with a bow and even if they do it is a slight bow and very short one.

When apologizing, the bow has to be deeper. A light bow indicates that the apology is not sincere while a deep bow implies great regret. Also the head is kept much low. Infact the body language should display that the person offering the apology is regretful for the situation.

Also when thanking the bow is deeper like in the case of apology. This is to express that the person bowing is grateful. Deep bows imply high degree of gratitude.

It is common to bow when you are introduced to a new person or even when you are meeting a person for the first time. Also when you meet friends or acquaintances, it is common to bow. Even at stores or restaurants, it is common to bow when you enter or when leaving.

Also when someone bows to you, you are expected to bow in return. At times this leads to a funny situation when both parties keep bowing repeatedly. Most foreigners are confused when to stop and the Japanese don’t stop bowing because they consider it rude to stop first! Many times we have encountered long “bowing” good byes.  

Children are taught to learn bowing at a very young age; perhaps they learn to bow before they can stand without support or before they learn to speak. I remember an 11 month old kid bowing in gratitude when we gave a gift. On my occasional visits to my daughter’s kindergarten, her friends bow when they see me and then run off.

It is common to see the other drivers bow when driving past if you have given them priority to pass. Also pedestrians at zebra crossing bow down in gratitude when quickly crossing the road to express gratitude to the drivers who stopped to let them cross.  Our friend (also a foreigner) was narrating a funny incident. He has lived in Japan for over a year now and on his recent visit to his home country, he habitually bowed to a person who had given him way. The other person looked at our friend with a “What was that for?” kind of expression.

Having lived in South Korea and Japan for over a year, we are now so used to it, bowing comes naturally to us now. Even on our trips back home we unknowingly bow when thanking someone.

Importance of Politeness and Discipline in Japanese society

Japan is a country of polite people; at least a majority of people are polite. Very rarely we encounter rude people.

There are many mannerisms which are defined as polite, rude and impolite and people behave accordingly. Even the Japanese language has words which are polite or not so polite, formal and informal. Formal behavior is expected and informal behavior is acceptable only among close friends and family. Age and seniority also define the kind of behavior and mannerisms. For instance not using certain polite speech is considered rude when speaking to older people or workplace superiors. People hardly raise their voice (at least in public) and are not shy of apologizing to others.  We are by now used to so much of politeness around that slight rudeness surprises us.

We hardly see any person breaking a queue or doing something which is of inconvenience to others. Also arrogance and carelessness is rarely seen. Most often we are greeted with smiling faces even from strangers.

What amazes me the most is the way most Japanese people react to a situation or the way they behave. There is a kind of alignment in the way they react and behave. Even body language appears to be similar. 

Also there is an amazing discipline among the people. A lot of stress is given to discipline and they are taught to be disciplined from a very young age. I say this from personal experience. My three year old daughter attends a Japanese kindergarten. We have seen a tremendous change in her mannerisms from the time she started attending the kindergarten. The same child who previously never bothered to gather her toys after playing has now learnt to keep all her things in place. On a visit to her kindergarten we did get to see how they are taught to do their things with discipline and also at the same time being considerate to others. The children are taught to help her other children in doing their work – even simple tasks like helping them with their clothes or putting things back. Children also sometimes help the teachers with cleaning up and other such chores. I really appreciate this because it teaches the children at such a young age to be independent and disciplined at the same time teaching them an important lesson about cleanliness. Even at home parents teach the children to help in the daily chores such as laying the table, wiping the cleaned dishes or making beds. This is something to learn from the Japanese.

Perhaps this is why the “5S” process was invented by the Japanese. As most people are aware of 5S is a systematic program which is designed to achieve total standardization, cleanliness and being organized. This in turn provides a safe, efficient and productive work environment while making people more disciplined and responsible.

The 5 “S’s” stand for 5 Japanese words beginning with the alphabet S:

1.      Seiri – This means Tidiness as in throwing away all unwanted things and rubbish from workplace

2.      Seiton: This means Orderliness as in each thing should have a defined place  and should be kept in its place. By doing so it is easier to retrieve things and also facilitates storage.

3.      Seiso: This means Cleanliness as in the workplace should be clean. Every person should ensure that he maintains cleanliness

4.      Seiketsu: This means Standardization as in the manner of maintaining cleanliness should be standardized. This helps in maintaining uniformity

5.  Shitsuke: This means Discipline as in all the abovementioned should be followed regularly and on a daily basis

 To sum it up these 5 S ensures simplification, orderliness, commitment, efficiency,  These 5 Japanese S’s have been replaced by English S words which are Sort, Set, Shine, Standardise and Sustain.

Though at first the Japanese customs and behaviors may appear a bit difficult for foreigners to follow, the fact however remains that there is a lot to learn from this unique country and its people.

Lucky Tanuki san

In Japan, it is common to see some or the other kind of lucky charm in front of business establishments primarily, shops and restaurants. Many Japanese people believe that certain animals bring good fortune and as such they place certain objects resembling these animals at the entrance of their business place.

I have written about the “Maneki neko” – the beckoning cat in an earlier post. The other popular animal is the “Tanuki”. Tanuki is the Japanese raccoon dog.

Many Tanuki statues can be found outside shops and restaurants all over Japan. This particular picture was taken during our recent trip to Kyoto. These Tanuki statues usually have a big belly and somewhat disproportionate body parts. They are shown wearing turtle shell hats and carrying a promissory note (sometimes replaced by an empty purse) in one hand while the other hand holds a sake bottle.

This animal is supposed to bring good fortune to business because of its 8 special traits:

1.      The big belly signifies bold and calm decisionmaking,

2.      The promissory note represents the trust and confidence

3.      The bottle of sake represents Virtue!

4.      The big tail represents steadiness and strength

5.      Oversized testicles symbolize financial luck!!

6.      Big eyes symbolize the capability to judge the environment and making good decisions

7.      The turtle shell hat symbolizes readiness and protection against bad weather (meaning bad times)

8.      The friendly smile which supposedly means friendly attitude towards customers.

The disproportionate size of the belly, tail, eyes and testicles give the “Tanuki” a comical and humorous appearance. The Japanese folklore has many stories related to the Tanuki. The tanuki is generally reputed to be mischievous and funny and at the same time gullible and absentminded.

A Japanese Christmas

 “Merri Kurisumasu”.

That is the Japanese version of "Merry Christmas".

This is my first Christmas in Japan. One of my favourite times of the year.. when everything is so lively and festive, the red and green and blue lights glowing, the decors, the gifts and the cakes.  This year we had a miniature Christmas tree with tiny lights and decors (which I picked up from a 100 yen store), actually our first tree - we did it for our daughter.

Christmas day in Japan is not a holiday. Christmas is not celebrated in most homes. Christianity is not a majority religion in Japan with only 1-2 % of the population being practicing Christians and Catholics. But what surprised me is the number of Christmas trees and decors and Christmas related stuff that is available in almost every store in Japan. In recent years it has become “stylish” to put up Christmas decorations and many people now decorate Christmas trees. Christmas lights are also put up outside many homes. As a friend puts it, Christmas is a commercial festival!

Around this time of the year, almost every department store plays Christmas songs – the most popular songs seem to be “Rudolph the red nosed reindeer” and “Santa Claus is coming to town”. People are on a shopping spree and lots of gift items are on sale and display almost everywhere. In Japan it is common to exchange Christmas gifts- parents to children and among friends. In Japan too, children believe in Santa Claus, who is known as “Santa-san”. An interesting tip about this was given to me by an acquaintance. Usually the gifts should be a perishable or something which is of daily use. The reason behind this is that the receiver should be able to estimate the value of the gift and should be able to give a return gift of approximately same value. This gifting “obligation and reciprocity” tradition is common for almost any kind of gift. My personal experience is also that any gift we give is almost promptly reciprocated with a gift or at least something edible.   

The popular cake in Japan around Christmas is reputed to be “Strawberry Shortcake”. It is said that Strawberry prices skyrocket in the weeks preceding Christmas. The cake is usually purchased and not home made. I am told that people purchase the cakes a day or two in advance and most stores price it high at this time. But on the Christmas day the prices drop dramatically because they need to clear out the stock before the day ends! An interesting anecdote is that young girls are referred to as Christmas cakes. It is regarded that 25 is the ideal age by when girls should get married and any girl remaining unmarried after her 25^th birthday is like an unsold Christmas cake – needs “discounts” to get married after that age! However nowadays I see more and more ladies well into their 30’s being single. This not so pleasant “Christmas cake” label seems to have been abandoned.

In schools too, there are Christmas parties before the schools close for winter break. Children are given presents- usually toys or craft/origami stuff to keep them busy during the winter break. In most schools and kindergartens, December is the season to have Christmas concerts. Our daughter’s kindergarten held their Christmas concert on 12^th December in Iwaki’s performing arts centre, Alios. This event is called “Ooyogikai” and children perform dances and plays revolving around the Christmas theme.

Though not a major festival, Christmas sure is a festive season even in Japan.