{"id":202602,"date":"2025-12-10T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/?p=202602"},"modified":"2025-12-10T17:35:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T08:35:59","slug":"celebrating-the-holidays-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/blog\/celebrating-the-holidays-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Home away from home: how the Go! Go! Nihon team celebrates the holidays in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The winter holidays can be one of the hardest times to be away from home, especially for Westerners. Japan celebrates Christmas very differently from the traditions that we might be used to, which is why we\u2019ve put together this article to show how the Go! Go! Nihon team celebrates the holidays in Japan. Let\u2019s take a look at the different ways we make Japan our home away from home during the holiday season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Baby<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How do I recreate holiday traditions from home?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Movies, decorations, and cozy rituals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Malia, our Blog Manager from the US, says, \u201cI like to watch Elf<\/em>, put up decorations, and even dress my Baby Yoda up in a Santa costume every year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M\u00e9gane, our Graphic Designer from France, likes to listen to Christmas playlists to feel festive. And Sean, one of our Student Advisors who is half Japanese half British, likes to put up a Christmas tree in his home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisset, our Web Developer from Cuba and the US, keeps cultural traditions alive by opening presents at midnight on Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing familiar food and celebrations to Japan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Secret Santa is a fun and thoughtful way to spread some holiday cheer with friends, family, or colleagues during the season. It\u2019s a simple tradition that brings people together and adds a little surprise and excitement to the holidays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crystal, our Study Trip Programs Lead, likes to host holiday parties with Christmas-themed crafts, good food, and mulled wine. She even brings tasty treats into the office for her lucky coworkers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lindt<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finding festive spirit in Japan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Christmas markets and winter illuminations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Matt, one of our Student Advisors from the UK, likes to exchange presents and winter illuminations<\/a> with friends and family. Roman, our Lead Web Developer from Ukraine, recommends visiting Christmas markets<\/a>, especially Yokohama\u2019s Christmas Market<\/a>, which is the biggest one in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christmas \u201cJapanese style\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Roman also recommends celebrating Christmas the Japanese way, which includes eating Christmas cake with friends or family and participating in the iconic KFC fried chicken tradition. Leaning into these distinctly Japanese customs can be a fun way to make new memories, especially if you\u2019re spending the holidays far from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building new traditions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Holiday outings and experiences<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Malia likes to go see The Nutcracker Ballet at the New National Theatre Tokyo<\/a> on Christmas Day and go ice skating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saskia, one of our Student Advisors from the UK, also likes to go ice skating. She added, \u201cThere is a British pub\/restaurant in Shimokitazawa that is doing a Christmas dinner offer, so I might try and book to go there if I can! Apart from that, I like to spend time with friends and watch all the classic Christmas movies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Flat<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What do I do for my first Christmas in Japan?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re experiencing your first Christmas in Japan<\/a>, you\u2019re not alone \u2014 many of us on the Go! Go! Nihon team have been exactly where you are. What made our holidays meaningful, even while far from home, wasn\u2019t about recreating everything perfectly. It was the small things: spending Christmas Eve with close friends, sharing strawberry shortcake (Christmas cake), watching favorite holiday movies, or keeping one simple tradition alive, like opening presents at midnight or putting up a tree.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our biggest advice? Surround yourself with people who make you feel supported, explore the beautiful winter illuminations and Christmas markets, and keep at least one tradition from home to ground you. At the same time, don\u2019t be afraid to embrace Japanese-style celebrations, and enjoy the chance to create new memories in your new home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating a home away from home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s completely normal to feel homesick during the holidays, especially in a place where Christmas is celebrated so differently. But the magic of this season doesn\u2019t disappear just because you\u2019re far away; it simply takes a new shape. By building small rituals, celebrating with friends, and embracing both familiar and new traditions, you can create a warm, meaningful holiday experience right here in Japan. Home isn\u2019t just where you come from \u2014 it\u2019s something you can recreate, piece by piece, wherever you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more about life in Japan, Japanese holidays, and other traditions, check out our blog<\/a> for more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The winter holidays can be one of the hardest times to be away from home, especially for Westerners. Japan celebrates Christmas very differently from the traditions that we might be used to, which is why we\u2019ve put together this article to show how the Go! Go! Nihon team celebrates the holidays in Japan. Let\u2019s take […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":174,"featured_media":202603,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[401],"tags":[2360],"class_list":["post-202602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-in-japan","tag-christmas-in-japan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/174"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202602"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":205042,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202602\/revisions\/205042"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}