1/12/2025 - 31/12/2025 December in Japan

It honestly felt surreal to think that I had been in Japan for 10 months at this point. I still remember arriving in Japan like it was yesterday and it seemed only a few short weeks ago that I was counting each week I had been here. But since the summer vacation, time had literally snowballed; each week passed faster and faster and, before I knew it, December was starting.

The first half of December was pretty relaxed with each day at school following the same rhythm. I was quite busy at my new school; my JTE's liked me coming to most of their lessons so I didn't really have any free periods during the school day. I spent my lunchtimes with the students in the support room and then I would go to the sports clubs after school. This meant that most days would fly by in a blur and it was the weekend before I knew it. By this point, I was really enjoying my time at school, I was getting to know all of the students very well and I had connected really well with one of my JTEs. I was looking forward to each day of work and having a fun time everyday.

Japan doesn't really celebrate Christmas like in the western countries. It is becoming more popular now, and most of my students were excited about getting money from their parents, however there's not the same level of decoration that you would find in the UK. It was quite easy to kind of forget that Christmas was coming up, however, Chloe and I didn't want to lose the festive spirit, so we spent time decorating our apartment, listening to Christmas music, and watching festive movies! Luckily, our American friend, Case and his family, absolutely LOVE Christmas and they had organized two events in December to help lift the festive spirit.

The first event was an ALT party for everyone in the area and we all had to bring a cheap present to play 'White Elephant'. The presents really ranged in value and so the game was pretty chaotic, with everyone stealing presents nearly every round. Luckily I came out with a good gift (a pack of crazy sparklers) but I was mostly just happy not to end up with the worst gift there - a bag full of 1 yen coins: the most useless coin there is.

The next week, Case held a 'Meet Santa' event in the town hall for all of the local children and so Chloe and I dressed up as elves and helped run the event. It was a super fun event and loads of children turned up. For many of these kids, this was the first chance they'd ever had to meet Santa and so a lot of them were VERY excited! Alongside meeting the big man himself, we also had face paint, temporary tattoos, and a craft table. It was a crazy busy 4 hours, but it was so much fun being able to spread some festive cheer to the local people. It was also so cute seeing how excitable the children were to meet Santa!

By this point in December, I was definitely feeling festive but unfortunately I still had work until the 24th of December! Knowing that all of the teachers back in the UK had broken up for the Christmas holidays but I still had to work right up until the night before Christmas definitely put a damper on the festivities, but I had two weeks of vacation after Christmas so I had a lot to look forward to. Also, on the 23rd of December, the most important guests were arriving in Japan - my family!!

My mum and dad landed in Japan on December 23rd and it was quite surreal to meet them in Mobara that evening. After having 10 months without seeing them, it was pretty weird to see them in this little town all the way across the world. My brother arrived on Christmas day and so we had a relaxing day in Mobara.

Like usual, we spent the morning opening presents but this is where the similarities end, because afterwards, we enjoyed the Japanese custom of eating KFC for Christmas lunch!! Honestly, I feel like everyone in Western countries is under the impression that everyone in Japan eats KFC on Christmas day (I definitely was), however, when I asked my students and colleagues about it, I found that many Japanese people actually don't eat fried chicken on xmas day. But, we weren't going to let that stop us, and so we ordered the big Christmas Day special box and got stuck in. The food was pretty good, and I'm very happy that I was able to take part in this very Japanese experience, but I really, really, really did miss a traditional Christmas dinner.... Even now, as I write this, I find myself dreaming of yorkshire puddings and a big roast dinner....

On the 27th of December, we took a trip to Disney Sea (I was very, very confident with the park at this point lol) and then spent a couple of days in Tokyo. We only had a short time there but I was able to give a quick tour of some main wards that I think everyone should see, Shibuya, Omotesando, Harajuku, Asakusa, and Ueno. While we were in Tokyo, Sky (David's GF) arrived in Japan and so she joined the party! It was great to show my family this amazing city.

Then, we took the shinkansen down to Kyoto and set up base there for a few days over the New Year period! New Year in Japan is a very religious and spiritual holiday and Kyoto is the historical capital of Japan: it has over 1600 temples and shrines spread out throughout the city. So, it was pretty busy but it definitely felt good to be in the heart of the New Year celebrations. We had a busy schedule in Kyoto, and we managed to fit a lot of activities in. We visited some of the main temples and shrines, including Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu Temple, and Kinkakuji Temple. We also took a day trip to Nara and were able to see the deer in snow flurries.

This was my second time in Kyoto and I was very happy to have some more time to explore the city. During the summer vacation, I'd taken a trip down to Kyoto and Osaka but with only one day to explore, I felt I couldn't fully appreciate the sights. Alongside sightseeing, I also took part in a traditional book making workshop and a tea ceremony! These were both such fun and interesting activities to do and it was great to experience some of the traditional Japanese cultural activities. Tea ceremonies are an oversaturated market in Kyoto, however the one that David and Sky booked us onto was extremely traditional and formal! There were some pretty intense moments but I really appreciated being able to witness this side of Japanese history.

On New Years Eve, my school friend Josh, was also in the area and so we met up with him in Kyoto and spent the evening celebrations with him. We started off the evening in a traditional izakaya and ate some delicious food while drinking lots of alcohol. With signs hung around the izakaya saying 'WE DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH', it was a good chance for me to practice my Japanese! After eating, we walked to a local temple and joined a queue to ring the temple bell at midnight. In Japan, the new year is seen in by the ringing of temple bells 108 times (called Joya no Kane 除夜の鐘) and some large temples offer an opportunity for the public to ring the bell themselves. However, usually this is a luck based system and people start to queue from early afternoon to secure a spot. Luckily, David had managed to find a smaller temple near our accommodation that was offering the chance to ring the bell and so, at 11:30pm we started to queue, fingers crossed that we would be get a chance to ring one of the 108 times.

Amazingly, we managed to get a chance and so at about 11:50pm, we joined a group of 4 others and rung a massive bell! Shortly afterwards, we counted down to midnight in the temple grounds before heading back to our accommodation!

The New Year celebrations were so different to my usual plans, but I felt so lucky to have experienced a different culture. I enjoyed the slower pace of celebration and I saw in the New Year feeling refreshed and grateful for everything I had experienced in 2025.

2025 was the biggest year of my life. By moving across the world, I proved to myself that I can do difficult things and, by pushing myself, I have been able to have some of the most amazing experiences. I feel so full of gratitude and I am a more confident, braver, and understanding person because of this experience. Celebrating the New Year in a different country, surrounded by my family, was the perfect way for me to reflect on the most amazing year in Japan.