So Christmas is in the air. Everyone is getting excited. Stores are having sales and playing Christmas music - just like America. The streets are lit and everyone is happy and there is no snow. It's 60 degrees (Farenheit) outside. Yes, I actually miss the snow right about now. We had some the other day but it wasn't even below freezing when it fell so it didn't stick at all.
There are trees and bows and lights and wreaths everywhere. But the religious part of Christmas is more or less dropped. I haven't seen a single nativity set in the entire country - in fact, we brought some from America for our family. Japan is not a Christian nation. Still, I really enjoy the joy and peace of the season. We do our own religious observance.
With one hilarious exception: I'm convinced that they don't know the difference between religious and secular Christmas music. They play "Oh, Holy Night" and "Joy to the World" and the like unabashedly - unlike America, ironically. One time I was visiting a video game, geeky gallery in March (don't you judge me it was AWESOME!) and the music in the background was "Oh, Holy Night". It made me snicker a bit because not only was it a religious song, but it was being played WAY off season. And also as background music for the majesty of Final Fantasy figurines. But I digress.
So the Tokyu Corporation, who owns a major transit system and several business plazas, launched Christmas with a theme theme this year. "Crystal Magic" is a campaign all around Tokyo and as far south as Yokohama that places unique Christmas exhibits with Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars themes. This one, for example, is the Lantern Tree - from "Tangled" in case you couldn't tell - decorated with lit lanterns and ropes of yellow yarn hair. You can kind of see the silhouettes of Rapunzel and Flynn in the boat up front.
Here's an illustration from their flyer of what the tree looks like lit up at night. I haven't made it down there that late yet - but I hope to!
Rapunzel isn't the only one getting the love. In the Hikarie building in Shibuya, where my husband happens to work, there are four more trees in honor of the Disney Princesses. Check them out!
I was determined to see them all! I wanted my picture with every single Crystal Magic tree before the season ended. That was before I found out that...well...they're ALL over the place. The five above were the most closely spaced, the rest span from WAY up north to WAY down south. I would easily spend $75 or more in train fare to see them all...
Still, there's still a few more that I probably will be able to hit. But in case I don't, here are the illustrations of all them from the flyer.
This one is kind of hard to see, but these are the Marvel and Star Wars trees.
There's more than the trees! At certain train stations, you can get a Disney/Marvel/Star Wars character stamp in your book, and when you collect all the stamps, you get prizes. More than just a business ploy (they DO run a train company...) it's an incentive to explore the city!
And this is just what one company is doing. Odaiba, a shopping and entertainment island (literally), is hosting fireworks shows every Saturday night and the whole island is lit up until Christmas! (Cool note: "Christmas lights" in Japanese is iruminashion, which is the Japanese-ization of "illumination".) Chances are pretty good that I will have a lot more pictures to come before Christmas is here.
So a big deal of Christmas here is cake. Everywhere and their dog is offering Christmas cakes. ...They are a big deal for a very good reason.
Strawberry shortcake seems to be the cake of choice. Also, this thing is $30.00 and not nearly as big as it looks.
Christmas is not a national holiday, so people don't even get off work. That's really different (not this year because Christmas is on a Sunday). In Japan, it's just a nice day to decorate for and then eat cake and exchange presents. Also, sweethearts go out to eat. Getting a reservation anywhere for Christmas Eve takes months of advance planning.
But I have my own traditions I'm bringing over that Tehn has lovingly requested that I share (and quip about - apparently I'm good at that?).
So I don't know where I'm going to find marzipan, but I know it DOES exist here because bakeries use it all the time. I am going to find it and try to continue the legacy of Norwegian Prince Cake. We've had one every year for as long as I can remember to honor my Norwegian heritage. That will be an adventure to bake with my new oven.
And now (Tehn has been waiting too long), I'll talk about wassail.
Wassail is magic. It is the embodiment of Christmas in a cup. It signals "winter cheer" more to me than hot cocoa does - probably because I don't do what I'm told and drink that stuff all year.
The secret to wassail is love. But mostly luck and trial and error. You can find an exact recipe but where's the adventure in that? To me, every cup being different is just part of the experience.
The base is easy - a mix of apple and orange juice. You should use a good deal more apple than orange. I like about 2/3 - 3/4 apple but it can vary. If you gotta have that tang go more orange. Obviously fresher is better but you're going to spice it up anyway so cheap is just fine.
As a side note, Japanese apple juice is AMAZING. It has a tang to it - I think they use a certain percent of green apple juice for some zest.
But I digress. So get ye yon olde pot and pour in the APPLE juice, setting aside the orange for later (try to restrain yourself, really).
The spices are as follows. For real-ness, buy them WHOLE. That means NOT the powder.
1) Cinnamon (sticks)
2) Cloves
3) Allspice
4) Nutmeg (OK this one you can buy the powder)
5) Ginger (if you like it - I personally prefer it without. Also, powder is a must or you'll end up drinking ginger juice. But hey, to each his own.)
How much of each? Some. Exactly "some" of each.
...like 1/2 a large cinnamon stick...five or six cloves...and some allspices. Let's say four for kicks and giggles.
So if you're fancy, you'll buy cheesecloth, wrap spices #1-3 in the cheesecloth and tie it with cotton string and submerse it in your apple juice. I'm not fancy so I dump spices 1-3 in the apple juice and watch 'em scatter on the bottom of the pan. Honestly, it's not hard to pick out whole spices later. Sheesh.
Stir if you want or whatever. You're going to boil it for forever anyway so don't put too much effort into it.
Turn up the heat and boil the heck out of that stuff. Like, an hour for a bigger pot. Actually simmering is better but if you boil it down too much add some water and carry on with life. Taste it periodically to check the strength of the juice and the spices. When it tastes good, it's done. If you like more spice, boil it longer, and less time for less spice. Traditional wassail is strong and hearty, so don't be afraid to over-boil. You can always water it down later.
Once you have achieved optimum spice-ness, add your orange juice, nutmeg, and ginger to taste. Heat it up so the orange juice doesn't make the wassail any less piping hot.
And then you drink it. And magic.
Also, fish out the whole spices before you drink it. That means take out the cheesecloth sack if you're fancy or, if you're like me, just scoop around the spices when ladling into cups. Don't swallow an allspice whole - that's bad. Probably not as bad as a clove, but still pretty bad.
And also you can reuse those whole spices for several batches. Just keep them on hand all winter and restock your juices.
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