Christmas in Japan

Would a Japanese Xmas tree be complete without a Hello Kitty ornament? :)

 

Merry Christmas from Japan! Merii Kurisumasu! Here's our Christmas tree in our tatami room (it's normally used as bedroom so probably not kosher to do this--shhh). There are very few places in Japan to get a live tree; most people have fake ones, if anything at all. Here in Japan Christmas Eve is a popular night to go out to romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant. Either that or people get fried chicken at KFC and have Christmas cake (kurisumasu keki). Igor got me a Christmas cake of my own--it was divine. Whipped cream, sponge cake, and strawberries oh my!

Here are a few pictures of the festivities around town!

 

 

My mama-san bike

Biking is one of the best ways to get around in Japan. The coastal areas (including Yokosuka) are pretty flat so it's very easy biking. The mama-san bikes (cruiser bikes that moms ride around in with kids and groceries) we got only have 6 speeds and a lot of them are only single speed. 

I'm getting used to a lot of things about biking in Japan. Usually you ride on the left..but sometimes people just ride all over the place. On base it's even less clear. Legally you have to wear a helmet on base, but off base I don't think I've ever seen a Japanese person wearing one.

I'm also still getting used to my new bike! It's very low so you just step off it but since I'm used to riding a mountain bike, I swung my leg over a few times and banged myself on the rear rack. I'm also getting used to riding with a basket on the handlebars...too much weight and it's been a challenge to steer! Overall, I really enjoy my bike...and I'm really glad that Igor and I aren't too much taller or we wouldn't have been able to find bikes at all...good luck if you're over 6 feet tall!