Welcome to Tokyo Tuesday.

If your regular viewer welcome back now, it wasn't originally gonna do a video on this topic.

But I put up a podcast about a week ago talking about Christmas versus New Year's in Japan.

And after the number of emails I got from you guys requesting a video on it, I kind of had to do one.

So we're gonna try and have some fun with the's.

Are a little more Christmas all right now, because there's a lot of information to cover this.

I'm gonna try and make every single point short, sweet, starting with Christmas versus New Year's in Japan, Christmas is really small.

We'll talk about that later, but New Year's New Year's.

It's everything.

I want to show you some stuff in here, So let's go this way, all right?

This one works.

It's Christmas.

Ask.

So I'm originally from Canada and Canada, Christmases, family time above all else.

But here in Japan, New Year's is family time, and it's all about the relax ation and the food, so come into a Japanese department store in the hopes of maybe finding some of that New Year's food actually show you guys during New Year's there to meals at a really popular one is close, itchy, and the other is ozone E.

These right?

Here are some examples of Sochi.

I'm actually in a totally different department store right now in a totally different part of Japan.

Look how beautiful some of these each individual ingredients inside the O set Bento box has meant to represent.

Like, for example, these yellow Could he hear these airmen represent money and well, but it is getting really hot in here.

So let's head back inside.

One of the big things that you need to know about New Year's is that Tokyo gets really quiet.

Most people leave Tokyo and head back to their hometowns to spend time with their families on where in the West we decorate for Christmas and all of that in Japan, they're more likely to decorate for New Year's.

Or do one thing that we usually do in the spring, which is cleaning the new year end cleaning here in Japan instead of spring cleaning.

Outside of that, it's just imagine sitting in a heated table called a co tatsu eating me kung and watching New Year's TV specials, which are huge, by the way and on the note of rating Christmas trees.

I give this one like a two out of 10 even Charlie brands.

Little tree is better than one.

There should be a Christmas tree in here, all right, Well, technically there is.

But it's a little small and surprisingly, that's something that I've noticed over the years living in Japan, that the Christmas decorations are actually a lot less now in 2018.

Then they used to be back in 2000 and seven, and those lights are terrible.

Let's get back out there.

Like pointing case.

This entire area right here a few years ago was all Christmas life all up there, where you see the greenery was all lit up and all down.

Here is a giant Christmas display.

All these trees were lit up, and this year there's just nothing on.

It's like mid December right now.

All of this used to have a beautiful Christmas lights just gone.

All right, really.

10 points for real points.

That is all right.

That one's not too bad.

That kind of feels like a proper Christmas tree so I think I'll give that one about 8 to 9 out of 10 just in terms of scale.

They also tripled up for impact.

They really use the corner on this one.

I approve of this Christmas tree moving on way in the middle of talking about New Year's work.

So we talked about the food.

We've talked about Tokyo getting really quiet because everyone goes home to their families and kids get something called Motoshima.

It's where their elders like Grandparent's and Parent's, give the money in the New Year's.

Another half decent tree will check it out in a second.

But while we're here, I wanted to give you guys a little bit of like, end of your advice in Japanese culture.

If it's gonna be your last time seeing somebody at the end of the year, you say, Yo yo, Toshio, it basically just means have a good year.

And then when you see them in the beginning of the next year, you say, Okay, must a little It's happy New Year.

That tree just changed colors that part of the get bonus points for the doves, those cute high jobs.

That's actually pretty good things Christmas tree, though all right.

Not too bad.

It also changes colors.

I kind of like the fact that it changes colors, but it also feels a little bit gimmicky, so I think it best.

I'm only gonna be able to give this particular tree about a seven out of 10.

It is nice, though.

Back behind me is the Tokyo International form.

And there should be some Christmas decorations there, so we're gonna go check it out.

So far, we're not off to a great start here.

Mind you, this flooring is pretty cool.

Look at that.

Look at that.

You know what?

Let's have some fun with again.

The international form here is a place that used to have a lot of Christmas decorations.

But over the years, once again, it has decreased.

Now, in all fairness, a lot of the Christmas decorations decreased after the earthquake for two reasons number one sets and then saving energy.

And number two just overall budget.

The scale of the Christmas decorations in Tokyo was off the hook.

It was absolutely unbelievable.

But again, New Year's is the really big one.

And if I'm not mistaken, there's a pretty interesting treaty on this way.

So let's go, chicken.

If you've been following the channel for a while, you may recognize this area because in the very first episode ever of Tokyo Tuesdays Charlotte and I came through here.

You can actually walk all the way from Tokyo station to Ginza, your ACTU Oh, and beyond underground of those stepping a foot inside.

Anyway, it's a little guys like they dance.

They do change up the display from time to time on these ones.

And they do dance.

Until a while ago, they were all sheep.

I got, I got I got next year's the Year of the Boar, which is, boy, they've changed up to born.

So I guess they change it up once a year.

It's still not exactly Christmassy.

So I think at best I'm gonna be able to give it about an 8.5 out of 10.

But all right, that's about the extent of the lights that we're gonna see here.

So I'm gonna walk over the modern OCI area where we can see a lot more.

Was kind of enjoying this little Christmas walk.

Lighting object?

Yes.

Lighting object.

Just for the record, there are a lot of Christmas lights around Tokyo.

Shinjuku is one of the most beautiful areas to see the Christmas illuminations as they're called.

I personally love the area.

Moderno.

Let me show you this little square here Christmas tree.

But it is Christmas decoration.

I think I'll give it about a 6.5, maybe seven out of 10.

You know what this seems like?

A pretty good time to cover New Year's Eve itself.

New Year's Eve in Tokyo was quite the experience.

It is the only day of the year with the trains.

Don't stop running at all.

There's 24 hour train service, and that is worth it all in.

It's own areas like should be a crossing.

Do you have a big count down?

And there's a big again.

It's not quite as good now as it was a couple of years ago.

It's really heavily policed now, but nonetheless, when they want to do the Japanese thing and stay at home or visited temple and or shrine, or whether you want to go out and do a more Western style New Year's Eve, you can do both Outside of that New Year's Eve, New year's day.

In its simplest form, New Year's Day.

Everything in Japan is close, like everything in Japan is closed.

A lot of people will visit a temple and or a shrine for something called Hudson Mold A and Or They'll try and wake up really early in the morning to see the first sunrise, which is called.

So he know that we're learning a lot of vocabulary today.

This was This was not meant to be a Japanese lesson, but there's a lot of stuff in there, and I almost completely forgot about Toshi Koshi Soba.

It's like year.

And so it's just like the last thing that you eat.

You're not supposed to break the noodles either.

A long life in longevity and I think that pretty much covers that on.

I also realized that I haven't rated these lights yet.

This entire street on both sides here in modern OCI is lit up like this is one of my favorite spots every single year, just because of how nice and clean it looks.

So I would probably give this somewhere between I was gonna say, somewhere between a nine and a 10 but more likely closer to a nine because there's no like big, beautiful Christmas tree around here.

It's just a light.

January 2nd is generally when all the New Year's craziness starts.

All the sales happen.

All the Goudeau, all that stuff.

But there's actually one really neat thing about January 2nd that not a lot of people talk about the fact that the emperor comes out one of two times during the entire year.

Stewart greeting.

So if you were to go to like the Imperial Palace Grounds, you can actually see the Emperor come out and greet everyone.

I've never done it.

I should do it.

Stepping aside from New Year's, which I think we've covered fairly well and touching on Christmas a little bit more all over Tokyo, you will find Christmas lights or, as they're called illuminations, just like this one.

But Christmas is a little bit different here in Japan.

Minute is back home.

I'm sure you already know this, but for good measure, I'm going to cover it anyway.

All right, let me try and cover this short and clear.

So back home, at least for me, Christmas is the big family.

Time in New Year's is for friends in Japan.

It's reverse.

We've seen that in Japan.

New Year's is for family and Christmas.

I would say Christmas is for friends, but really Christmas is for dates.

More than anything is not Christmas itself.

It's Christmas E.

You know, this seems like a pretty good time to tell you guys the story by first ever major Christmas related culture shock in Japan.

Christmas Morning, December 25th.

I woke up really early and went into the Ginza area so that I could enjoy the Christmas atmosphere instead.

You know what I got?

I got cleaning crews scraping reindeers off of windows and trees coming down Christmas lights coming off the building.

I was not prepared for that in the least.

So yeah, Christmas Day in Japan is not as big as Christmas Eve.

That pretty much covers Christmas itself, right?

It is a very different experience from back home, and it's got a lot of parts that are great in its own.

But every now and then, every now and then, I like to go back.

I won't be going back this year.

I didn't go back last year for the first time in three years.

Now, as I said at the beginning, This is based off of a podcast that I have linked below, which goes over all of this in a lot more detail.

So if this is a topic that you're interested in, feel free to check that out.

If you do have questions, leave them in the comments below.

Because you guys know I will be hanging out with you down there.

And if you enjoy this video, it would mean the world to me.

You take the time to give it a like maybe share it and you guys know that I will see you again real soon.

I'm just gonna turn the camera over these lights.

It's a Christmas egg.

Gave it seven stars.