merikurisumasu to shin'en akemashite omedetogozaimasu!

I was going to write about Japanese bathrooms, but I've had people asking about Christmas and the time seems right for it.  Only 10 days left till the big holiday.  Do they celebrate Christmas is Japan?  Well they certainly decorate for it.  As you can see.  This is just around my little city.  Once I go to Osaka and take some pictures, then you will see what a Japanese Christmas really looks like.  So they decorate, but do they celebrate?  I've been told that there is a lot of prep and hype before Christmas, but as the day comes along it just carries on as if nothing has happened.  People go to work, people shop.  Really it is supposedly business as usual.

I will have to let you know, once I've experienced it for myself.  Thankfully, I won't be alone this Christmas.  I have friends who are coming to stay for a couple of days before they head home for the holidays.  And one friend who will be here to celebrate Christmas with me.  Unfortunately, I  just caught a cold.  Yeah, so I'm pretty sick right now, but I have 10 days to get better, so I am going to try my best. I bought some more vit C dink.  Have been having lots of fluids, and trying to say as warm as is possible in my cold, drafty, no central heating little place.  Christmas day I am meeting up with other teachers for nomihoudai and tabehoudai, which is basically all you can drink and all you can eat respectively.  You have a 2 hrs window to gluttonize and drink as much as humanly possible for a set price.  This will be my first nomihoudai/tabehoudai, so I am looking forward to it, even if I don't drink.  Because, I sure do eat!

I really like hearing from anybody who reads this.  You can leave a comment here or as most of you have been doing, email me a note.  To answer a question or two posed in email; the photo in the background is one I took of a temple that I saw on my way to one of the schools.  It was in a narrow street and just down the road was a graveyard. And, Japanese mandarin oranges do taste better here, but they are also really expensive.

To answer some possible questions: the title of the blog is "Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year" in Japanese.  And the embedded video is my favorite Christmas song and some Naruto video, which actually is perfect, because it shows you where I am in the series. :p