How People Celebrate Christmas in Japan

In recent years, twinkling Christmas lights, Christmas markets, and all sorts of cute Christmas gifts have gained popularity and are a common sight in Japan’s big cities.

December is the beginning of winter in Japan, so it starts to get quite cold but is still not the coldest it gets. That means you can snuggle up warm in your gloves and hats, but can still enjoy some time at the outside events. So let’s see how people in Japan make the most of this snuggly season!

Illumination Events

One of the things people look forward to the most about Christmas in Japan is the beautiful light-up events called “Illuminations”. These magical events can be as modest as lighting up the local park, or as extravagant as installing three-tiered merry-go-rounds at a theme park decked out with sparkly lights as far as the eye can see.

While illuminations can be romantic, they are certainly not reserved for couples. You can enjoy Japan’s twinkly lights with family, friends, or even just with your camera.

Here are some of the biggest Christmas illumination events in Japan:

• Tokyo Skytree
• Kingdom of Lights at Huis Ten Bosch
• Yomiuriland
• Nabana no Sato Winter Illumination
• Hakodate Winter Festival
• Flower Fantasy at Ashikaga Flower Park
• Kobe Luminarie

Many prefectures have their own smaller winter illuminations in local parks, too, so it’s worth asking a tourist information centre if there are any nearby if you’re not close to the big ones.

Christmas Markets

Illuminations and Christmas markets often go hand in hand in Japan. Many of the most well-known events will have a few stalls or mulled wine at the ready.

These Christmas markets are most often inspired by the German Christmas markets, and feature wooden stalls selling crafts and food. This is a fun way to see a Japanese take on European Christmas traditions.

However, these are often a lot smaller than what you might find in Europe, and are usually best making up part of your day rather than as a full-day activity.

Christmas Dates

While Christmas Day is often seen as a time to spend with family in the west, in Japan that is not necessarily the case. In Japan, companies do not typically give Christmas Day off, so the whole family may only have the evening together.

Instead, Christmas in Japan tends to focus on couples and creating that magical atmosphere.

On Christmas Eve, or sometimes Christmas Day, couples will go out and spend a romantic evening together. This might mean going to an illumination and then a fancy dinner out, for example. Restaurants get very booked up during this time, so make sure to reserve a seat in advance if you want to partake in the romantic atmosphere!

Christmas Food

Because of the lack of Christmas traditions in Japan, people are usually less particular about what they eat on the day.

Simply thanks to some marketing tricks, KFC managed to become the go-to food for Christmas in Japan. You can pre-order the special Christmas sets from KFC well in advance, and are probably better off doing so in the big cities, as they may be overcrowded with orders on the day. Many other fried chicken places have hopped on the trend too, so you will see plenty of fried chicken sets and deals around Christmas if you can’t get KFC.

That doesn’t mean that everyone eats KFC for Christmas though! Many people will go out for a nice meal, cook something a bit special at home, or simply not do anything extra.

If you have a sweet tooth, some people even opt for a strawberry shortcake for dessert on Christmas. The light and creamy sponge cake is completely different to the denser European fruit cakes! But lots of lighter fruit cakes like panettone also line the shelves in winter.

New Year in Japan

While cute events and a magical winter atmosphere does take over select parts of Japan, New Year is more widely celebrated and linked to older traditions.

Some areas like Tokyo’s Shinjuku have informal street parties and events, but the more common New Year’s celebration is to go to a shrine at midnight. Many even choose to visit a shrine or picturesque spot like a mountain peak to view the first sunrise of the year. New Year’s Eve and the following few days are often spent with family, where the traditional New Year’s food is called “osechi ryori.”

Winter Scenery

Has that got you in a wintery mood? One of the most beautiful places to visit during winter in Japan is Ginzan Onsen. Have a look at our article here to see if you should add it to your itinerary!