Unconventional Christmas

 In the past few weeks I have thought again and again how unconventional our Christmas season/celebration is this year. And yet, to quote Dr Suess in How The Grinch Stole Christmas, "it came just the same". I can see that celebrating Christmas has very little to do with the trappings and traditions. Those are fun and I love them (and miss some of them!) yet I felt the Christmas spirit without most of them this year.

But even though we couldn't keep all of our traditions we did manage to have a small tree and make some neighbor treats!


We started our holiday by taking off early on Wednesday and heading to the Hottarakashi Onsen. It is in a lovely spot with a beautiful view of the Yamanashi Valley and Mt Fuji in the background. Because we went mid week it was totally uncrowded (at least on the women's side). Dad said he was joined by an entire baseball team on the men's side. 








For Christmas Eve we went to Kamakura. This was my first time and it was so interesting to see the Giant Budda. We walked down to see the ocean and there were lots of wind surfers. We were all wearing winter coats so it's hard to imagine being out in the water.  We also hiked to see a shrine where washing your money is said to bring good luck. 

 Our Christmas Eve meal was delicious. I had the best Vegetable Tempura I've ever eaten! Dad had a local specialty called Whitebait. It is a pile of tiny little fish - but you can see their eyes! Tasted kind of like noodles - kind of.... unconventional is the word of the day.
















We were invited to dinner by a family in our Branch and it was a feast! I took a Gnocchi and cabbage dish and the Avocado Hummus with veggies and pita chips. I also made a "Christmas cake" in honor of the Japanese tradition (but ours was sweet!)






I have a side note on the Japanese traditions - somehow the tradition got started in Japan that they way to celebrate Christmas is to eat fried chicken - KFC if possible. We have learned that families put in their Christmas order with KFC a year in advance! 

The friends who invited us for Christmas dinner were planning to pick up a rotisserie chicken from Costco, but they were sold out! They found out in order to get one you had to pre-order and the price - 5,700 yen = $57 for a 3 lb chicken! No kidding! That is only the Christmas price, it goes down to about $7 the rest of the year. 

But if all else fails you can pick up a container at the train station. (you might have to zoom in to see the "Christmas 2020" stickers.



Golf has been a part of our Christmas this year. On Christmas day we went to the driving range to hit balls.  





Then on the day after Christmas we tried a new game - Park Golf. It is mini-golf on steroids. A combination of regular golf, mini-golf, and croquet. The balls used are about the same size as a billiard  ball.

We lost our balls in the bushes several times before we got the hang of it, but it's a great game and I think we'll keep playing. We can ride our bikes to the park that has a course and rents equipment.



  












Comments

  1. sojayDecember 27, 2020 at 11:25 AM

    So many fun things! And, btw, your hair really does look great! Have you had it cut in Japan??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Suzanne OhsiekDecember 27, 2020 at 11:14 PM

      Thanks! We really did miss being with everyone but tried to do some fun things so as not to get too sad.

      For my hair - yes, I've had it cut here a couple of times. There is a salon on base. The stylists are Japanese but they can speak English (limited). I really like them and by using pictures, we've gotten along just fine.

      I'm glad we could meet Charles! He is so nice and I'm happy for you both!

      Delete

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