The celebration of Christmas began in Japan around 1900, with the country’s opening to the West during the Meiji Restoration. And since an important celebration is often associated with a special dish, the Japanese Christmas cake was sold for the first time in 1910, at the Fugiya store.

But about 40 years ago, a smart marketing campaign by KFC managed to create another Christmas dish: the fast food fried chicken! Today, this new “tradition” is so popular that 1 of 3 Japanese adults are eating the Christmas fried chicken… And some KFC stores are dressing their Colonel Sanders statues accordingly, like in this photo from Akihabara…

KFC Restaurant, Akihabara, Tokyo

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: My 10th visit to Japan starts today!