Merry Christmas, Japan

In autumn 2007, a young Australian guy arrived in Japan. He left his engineering job back home to do a little adventure in a country he has always been fascinated with, Japan.  And just like most native English speakers, the best way to do this adventure while still making money is to become an English teacher.

Mind you, the pay as an English teacher in Japan is somewhat better than his pay back in a company in Sydney.  Well, he is ready. He got his lonelyplanet travel book, a Sony electric dictionary, and had taken some lessons that he could read and write hiragana pretty well.

It didn’t take him long to get a sweet little Japanese girlfriend. Sure, they had their differences, she didn’t even speak English so well. But who cares, she was happy to show him around, and he was more than glad to have a pretty girl by his side.

December came. He posted some Christmas cards to send back home, he even sent out a few new year cards for his acquaintances in Japan, knowing how important new year cards in Japanese culture.

He also asked his girlfriend which shrine she would like to visit on the 1st of January, knowing how important it is to visit a shrine on new year day for the Japanese.

Christmas eve came. He invited 5 Australian and American friends over to his house, fellow English teachers. The sweet girlfriend showed up too. They all drank and had chit chat the whole night.

Christmas day came. He woke up with a terrible hangover, made some calls to Australia to wish his family merry Christmas. He went out to 7Eleven, bought a bento for his lunch and dinner, and stopped at Tsutaya to borrow some DVDs.

His sweet girlfriend called and asked him if he wanted to go out tonight. He said, no thanks, he is tired and in the mood for a quiet time at home with some movies. They hung up. He sat and watched movie whole night, sometimes thinking about the family back home who might be having Christmas barbecue party.

Boxing day came. The sweet Japanese girlfriend called and said she is terribly sorry, but she thinks the relationship would not work. He asked why, why, why. But she would not say. Confused, he finally agreed.

Weeks later, after a conversation in a bar with several friends, he understood. He smiled and thought of his books sitting on his desk in his small apartment. The books that have helped him to not only survive in Japan, but also to fit in, to do things as the Japanese. Piles and piles of books on Japanese culture, history, food, shrines, and traditions.

Yet from all those books, none of them had mentioned how for the young modern Japanese, Christmas is supposed to be the most romantic moment; including all the hoopla of flowers and candle light dinners.

Ah, well.

Now he knows.