Christmas in Japan

Spending Christmas away from home was quite the experience! The weather is very mild in Tokyo, the lowest temperatures being around 4 degrees Celsius(40 degrees Fahrenheit). There is still fruit in the trees and flowers. Hail was the closest we came to snow so far!
For Christmas, my family usually eats Ham or pernil (pork shoulder). In Japan, less than 1% of the population is Christian. In fact, a majority of Japanese people don't associate with any religion or consider themselves religious. The commercial aspects of Christmas are celebrated in Japan. A common tradition among Japanese people is to eat chicken, specifically, Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas eve. Another tradition is eating cake with a lover.

Miguel and I organized a Christmas party of our own that was soo much fun! We had Malaysian style chicken, a spaghetti type thing that I made, Dominoes pizza, sushi, and many other things to eat! The International office gifted us with Christmas cake and it was so touching.

the G1 Arima Kinen

Sorry again for the delay! I had internet issues for a month, then a bit of anxiety on what exactly to post, because so much has happened! I give you a short post relevant to this week!

I don't know why I was surprised to see that horse racing seems more popular in Japan than it does in the US. Many retired racehorses horses are bought by Japanese breeders. Like one of my favorite race horses, War Emblem! You always see ads on the train, in the street, the newspaper, there are betting magazines, and tons more computer and video games than in the US. I even found a manga(comic) series that I really need to check out!

You even see huge spaces dedicated to horse racing in the arcade/gambling buildings!
Well, this week the Japanese Racing Association has been advertising a race set to run on the 22nd of December. Its the G1 Arima Kinen run at a little over a mile and half at Nakayama Racecourse. It is the last big race of the season, equivalent to America's Breeder's cup races!They had a huge display in Shibuya Station, with television screens all over as well as a life sized racehorse sculpture! I wanted to take it back to my dorm! A hobby of mine is collecting, customizing, and painting model horses. I want a copy of this one to paint!

I'm debating going to the racetrack next weekend, maybe not on the day of the big race. It is about an hour and a half train ride, and around $10 round trip, even with my student pass...I've never been to a thoroughbred race, although I have been to a standardbred track. If trotting and pacing races are so exciting, I can't imagine how awesome thoroughbred racing must be to witness! So torn! I could always wait until next season I suppose...