natasha nakamura's diary

Tokyo is even more drenched in flickering Christmas lights than New York. Coffee houses play "Jingle Bells" over and over and householders of a certain cast of mind seem to be determined to out-glitz their neighbors. I notice, though, that houses with carefully tended Japanese gardens do not deign to decorate themselves: bah, humbug. There is a definite Christmas culture evolving here but at this point Christmas in Tokyo seems like a wintery Fourth of July.

Anyway, I'll have some peace and quiet when I visit Papa and Mama in Kyoto during the holidays. Kyoto is the real Japan; Tokyo is just a rude upstart. (But I'd wither away if I had to live in Kyoto.)