My 10th visit to Japan starts today!

There are special times to visit a country and that's even more true for Japan! My favorites are the cherry-blossom period, the summer, when most of the matsuri and fireworks festivals are taking place and the winter, around the New Year.

If in Europe and America we somehow connect the Christmas and the New Year and the Christmas tree is often present during the New Year celebrations, Japan has a completely different approach. Here, the Christmas is an imported event, but even if the religious part is missing, Christmas trees are still decorated, special treats are prepared and gifts are offered... but all this stops after December 25.

Immediately afterwards, the New Year decorations are replacing the Christmas trees, because in Japan the New Year is the really important celebration. Special New Year festivals and fairs are taking place, ceremonial visits are made to temples and shrines...

This year, I'm inviting you to join me, to discover together the uniqueness of Japan during this time of the year...
And until the first photo of the trip, let's start the journey at the symbolic Mile Marker Zero Winter Illumination, in Shimbashi, Tokyo... the place from where the very first Japanese train started in 1870...