Yesterday I celebrated Christmas in Tokyo. I was actually pretty surprised at the lack of decorations around the city. Granted, we have only been to Ginza and Shibuya but I figured Shibuya would at least be in the Christmas spirit. There have been a few decorated Christmas trees around but nothing in the traditional sense. I think many I’ve been so overloaded by Christmas in the US that it seems so empty here in Tokyo. Of course, Christmas isn’t a national holiday here, so I couldn’t expect them to be going all out for a holiday that has little significance besides presents.

My hubby and I stopped by a little dessert shop in Tokyo Station on the way home last night and picked up some delicious cakes to eat. It was our little Christmas treat.

We left America on the 22nd and arrived in Japan on the 23rd. It was about a 13 hour flight and then it took another hour on the N’EX to get to Tokyo Station from Narita. We got a little lost at the station but once we were outside it was easy to find our apartment. I’m still battling the jet lag.
The apartment is in a business district so there aren’t many grocery stores or shopping areas but there are plenty of coffee shops and convenient stores.

The day after we arrived we decided to take it easy and walk around the area to get used to everything.The Imperial palace isn’t far from where we are staying so we walked over there and took some pictures before heading for Nisha Ginza and the Hello Kitty stores. Two floors of HK cuteness. The first floor is Questina, a store that has more grown up items. I found an adorable purse but for $300 I had to pass. There were also plenty of sparkly cases for ipods, and cell phones. The upstairs was the Gift Gate. This sections was dedicated to a younger audience..as well a more Sanrio characters. Yesterday when we were in Shibuya we also checked out the 109-2 Sanrio store…but it wasn’t nearly as cool as the Ginza stores.