Christmas in Japan is unlike anywhere else in the world,” says Haroun Khan at Japan Rail Pass. “Couples celebrate romance, friends gather for special meals, and you can enjoy treats like strawberry Christmas cakes that are unique to Japan. And, of course, the famous tradition of Christmas fried chicken from KFC! It’s these little quirks that make Christmas in Japan so much fun, and it’s a wonderful time to visit if you want a fresh twist on the holiday.
5 wonderfully unusual ways Christmas is celebrated in Japan
- A Kentucky Fried Christmas Dinner
One of the quirkiest and most beloved Japanese Christmas traditions is eating KFC on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. According to KFC, Japan pulled in 6.9 billion yen (roughly US$63 million) from December 20 to 25 in 2018, with lines out the door starting on December 23. This started in the 1970s following a successful marketing campaign called “Kentucky for Christmas” (or “Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii”). The idea caught on so well that many families now pre-order their KFC Christmas feast months in advance to avoid standing in line for hours.
2. Christmas Cake (But Not The Fruit kind)
In Japan, Christmas cake doesn’t mean the traditional fruitcake seen in Westernised celebrations – instead, it’s a fluffy sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries, symbolising prosperity and indulgence. It’s customary to share these cakes with friends or loved ones on Christmas Eve. The strawberry topping represents the red and white colours of Christmas and Japan’s national colours. Before the war, many of the items needed to make Christmas cake, like butter, milk, and sugar, were not common in Japan. This left sweets like cake only available to the upper class. After the war when Japan’s economy rose, the ingredients became available, and Japan’s middle class adopted this cake as a symbol of wealth.
3. Lovers Day: Christmas Eve
Although Christmas Eve is not an official holiday, many Japanese celebrate it more like Valentine’s Day. Many couples celebrate by exchanging gifts, going out for a fancy dinner, and marvelling the Christmas lights. Popular destinations for this include Tokyo’s Roppongi Hills and Shibuya, which are known for elaborate Christmas illuminations and romantic, festive atmospheres. Hotels, restaurants, and dating spots are usually fully booked, marking Christmas Eve as one of the biggest date nights of the year!
4. Illuminations Abound
Many cities across Japan decorate their streets with Christmas lights, or winter illuminations, and are displayed between November and December, (with some running even longer, stretching from October all the way to February). Among these displays is Kobe’s Luminaire, designed by an Italian and held as a memorial for the victims of the Kobe earthquake in 1995, and which draws more than three million visitors each year. Another large winter illumination display, called The Kingdom of Light, can be found in Nagasaki – it boasts a whopping 13 million lights, along with an LED waterfall, a light and fountain canal cruise, and collaborations of light with flowers and music.
5. Joya no Kane
Despite being more associated with New Year’s Eve in Japan, the Buddhist tradition of ‘Joya no Kane’ often overlaps with the holiday season. On December 31, temples ring their bells 108 times to rid people of the 108 earthly desires that are believed to cause human suffering, allowing everyone to enter the new year with a clean slate. Some people visit temples and shrines on Christmas Day as a way to seek blessings or reflect on the year.
Japan’s Christmas traditions are a fascinating blend of Western influence and local interpretation, creating a one-of-a-kind holiday experience! For more information on Japan at Christmas time, please see: https://www.jrpass.com/blog/do-people-celebrate-christmas-in-japan.
Photo credits: Shutterstock – Hiroshi Mori
