Disney Halloween

When I first came to Japan, there was no Halloween here.
But it’s become more and more popular in Japan over the years.

It’s different from Halloween in America though. Japanese kids don’t knock on their neighbors doors to “trick ‘r treat” for candy.

There are Halloween parades and some shopping malls let kids “trick ‘r treat” from store to store.

One of the most popular Halloween event in Tokyo is Tokyo Disneyland’s Halloween theme.
It starts in September and goes til October 31st (Tokyo Disney’s X-mas theme starts right after).

The Happiness Year

Tokyo Disneyland opened on 1983 April 15th … thirty years ago today.

I can’t believe how fast time flies!
When I first came to Japan, Tokyo Disneyland was only seven years old.

Tokyo Disneyland is calling this year, 2013, the “Happiness Year”.

Have you ever been to Tokyo Disneyland or any of the world’s Disney parks?

All in one weekend

I had a busy couple of days this past weekend.
First of all, my family and I went to Tokyo Disneyland together. My kids like the Disney Halloween that is done during the month of October at Tokyo Disneyland.

I also got my driver’s license renewed since it was going to expire next month.

When I was a teenager in Florida I had a U.S. (Florida) driver’s license but I didn’t live in America long enough to need to have it renewed…so I’m not sure where it is easier, America or Japan, to renew a license.
And, actually, my Florida driver license has expired years ago…I have had a Japanese driver’s license for many years but not a U.S. one!

Anyways, I have a “gold license“…so it is the easiest (and least expensive) of the Japanese driver’s licenses to renew.

“What is a gold license“, you ask?

In Japan, driver’s licenses have a stripe that is one of three colors…either green, blue or gold.
A “green license” is a “beginner driver”. These drivers must have a special decal on their car that identifies them as a beginner driver. This license is valid of three years (my oldest daughter has this one now).

A “blue license” is a regular “operator’s license”.

And a “gold license” is a “safe driver“. This license, as I mentioned, is the quickest, easiest and least expensive to renew. It only takes about one hour from the time I walk in the driver license office til I exit with my renewed license.
Also, a “gold driver” pays less for automobile insurance.

As a sidenote, in Japan, if you take a driver license exam with an automatic-transmission car, then that’s the only type you’ll be licensed to drive.
I took my exam years ago with a standard transmission (“stick shift”) car…so I can legally drive both a manual transmission or an automatic. My license also allows me to drive an eight-ton truck.

While I was in the driver’s license office I noticed a poster advertising Tokyo’s bid for the 2020 Olympics.

It says “The 2020 Olympics / Paralympics in Japan!”

I wrote a post about Tokyo’s bid for the 2016 Olympics (that was ultimately unsuccessful).
Click here to read it…it has the official promotion video for the bid campaign.

And finally, my wife and I went to a festival.

There were lumberjacks at this festival that put on a log-rolling show.
Very entertaining!

They also put on a “strong man demonstration“.
At one point they put heavy hay stacks, barrels and a small boat on a man’s chest…and then three other men climbed onto the boat while it was on the man’s chest!

Ultraman was there too!

卒業式

Today was my second daughter’s 中学校の卒業式 (junior high school graduation ceremony).

In early April (after Spring Break), she’ll start high school.

Last year at this time, my oldest daughter graduated from junior high. (Click here to read the post I wrote about that day).

In America, high school starts at grade nine…but in Japan, elementary school is six years (America is only five), then three years of junior high, and three years of high school.
It totals twelve years just like in America but high school in Japan starts at the equivalent to grade ten in the U.S.

Last week she and her friends from school went to Tokyo Disneyland together.

Tokyo Disneyland was having it’s annual 「春のキャンパスデー」 (“Campus Day”).

This promotion is from 2010 January 4 – March 19.
So it ended today.

On Campus Day, students can buy a 「キャンパスデーパスポート」 (“Campus Day Passport“) to enter the park at a discounted price.

The price for junior high and high school students is usually ¥5,000 but during this campaign it’s only ¥4,000 for them.
College students usually pay ¥5,800 admission to Tokyo Disney, but on Campus Day the price is ¥4,500.
Of course, to qualify for these discount prices students must show their student ID card.

I grew up in Florida. Not too far from Orlando Disney World, but I’m not sure if they have “Campus Day Passports” there or not.

Have you ever been to any of the Disney parks in the world? What types of sale promotions do they have?

About five years ago, Tokyo Disneyland began going by the name “Tokyo Disney Resort“ because they built a second park.

So Tokyo Disney Resort comprises both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea.
They are next to each other, but they’re two separate parks.

————

So, at my daughter’s junior high school, the students who graduated today are now on Spring Break.
They’ll start high school in a few weeks.

My other two daughters have another week of school before their spring break starts.
But this is a three-day weekend. Monday is 「春分の日」 (Spring Equinox), which is a holiday in Japan.

東京ディズニーランドの写真

Last weekend, my daughters went to 東京ディズニーランド (Tokyo Disneyland) together. They took their young six-year-old cousin with them.

While the four of them were at the amusement park, my wife and I went to IKEA (I wrote about that last week. Click here to read it.)

Here are some of the photos that my daughters took (I’m not posting any of the photographs that have my kids or niece in them):

The Tokyo Disney Resort bus

"Daisy Duck"

"Pooh-san"

A statue of Walt Disney and Mickey with Cinderella's Castle in the background.

"Buzz Lightyear"

++++++++++

I’m sure you’ve heard in the news about the recent outbreak of a new epidemic in Mexico that has spread to America.
It’s a 豚インフルエンザ (Swine (Pig) Flu)!

First, there was “Mad Cow“, then the “Bird Flu“…and now it’s pigs. Will fish be next?

Japan did a pretty good job of keeping the mad cow and bird flu out of this country. Hoping this new swine flu won’t spread here either!

++++++++++

Anyways, “Golden Week” has officially started today. Students still have school and most people still have to work until Thursday…but some people get to begin their holidays today.
As with most people though, my family all have our Golden Week holidays from next Saturday (May 2) until Wednesday (April 6)…plus this Wednesday (April 29) is off too (But, Thursday (April 30) and Friday (May 1) are work days).

Wednesday, April 29 is 昭和の日 (Showa Day). (It used to be 緑の日 (Greenery Day)).
Sunday, May 3 is 憲法記念日 (Constitution Day).
Monday, May 4 is now 緑の日 (Greenery Day). (It used to be 国民記念日 (Residents Day).
And Tuesday, May 5 is 子供の日 (Children’s Day).

Because 憲法記念日 (Constitution Day) is on a Sunday this year, it’s observed on Tuesday, May 6.
So most people’s Golden Week is from Saturday May 2 – Tuesday May 6.

Click here to read my FAQ about the Golden Week holidays.

Also, this year (2009) in Japan, there will be a second Golden Week in September!
This is because 敬老の日 (Respect For The Aged Day) is on the third Monday of September…and 秋分の日 (Autumn Equinox) is on September 23.

This year, the third Monday of September will be on September 21. So since September 21 and 23 will be off…the government made September 22 between them a day-off too.
So, many people will have Saturday, September 19 until Wednesday, September 23 off…a second Golden Week.

Tokyo Disneyland

On Tuesday (January 6), my second daughter went with four of her friends to 東京ディズニーランド (Tokyo Disneyland).

They left early in the morning so that the could get in line at 東京ディズニーランド (Tokyo Disneyland) to get tickets before the line got too long.

The went in the park when it opened and stayed until closing. They’re teenage girls…so they love Disneyland!

Here are the pictures that she took (minus the ones that she and her friends are in):

They had a good time, of course.

(By the way, as I mentioned in an earlier post (click here), last year was the 25th anniversary of the opening of 東京ディズニーランド (Tokyo Disneyland). When I came to Japan, 東京ディズニーランド (Tokyo Disneyland) was only seven years old!)

Xmas time

It’s Christmas time…and Xmas is celebrated in Japan, but not to the extent that it is in Western countries.
In Japan, New Years is the biggest holiday. Actually, Xmas isn’t a legal holiday here…I mean, it’s a work day (unless it falls on the weekend).

In Japan, クリスマス (Christmas) is mainly for couples and families with children.
Couples often go on a date to look and クリスマス・イルミネーション (Xmas illumination).
(Click here to visit a website that shows many places around Japan to see クリスマス・イルミネーション (Xmas illumination). (That site’s in 日本語 (Japanese) only)).

And they may also go to 東京ディズニーリゾート (Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea) for the Disney Christmas event that they have there (of course, this is less popular with couples who aren’t in the Tokyo area).

Families with children may also go to 東京ディズニーリゾート (Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea), if they’re in this area.

But in Japan, most homes aren’t decorated for Xmas…especially uncommon are Christmas trees. Stores and shopping malls, on the other hand, are very decorated for Christmas from November until Xmas day (after that, the decorations quickly change to the more important New Years decorations).

In Japan, Santa Clause will leave presents near the pillows of young children in Japan on Christmas Eve. On average, Japanese children receive fewer Xmas presents than children in Western countries.

On Christmas Day, it’s popular for families to have a Christmas dinner. But it’s different from Xmas dinners in other countries.
When Japanese people think of Christmas dinner, most think of Kentucky Fried Chicken® and a strawberry poundcake that is called クリスマス・ケーキ (Christmas cake).

Kentucky Fried Chicken® started a campaign about thirty years ago at Christmastime by decorating their shops for the holiday and offering set meals advertised as American style Christmas dinners.
And now, on Christmas Day, Kentucky Fried Chicken® always has long lines outside their stores and their deliverymen are driving all around town on the Kentucky Fried Chicken® mopeds.

The KFC 「パーティ・バーレル」 (“Party Barrel“):

At Christmastime, KFC Japan even sells 1% alcohol bottles of “Christmas champagne”.

Kentucky Fried Chicken® isn’t the only ones busy at Christmas in Japan, cake shops have lines of customers buying the クリスマス・ケーキ (Christmas cakes):

Mickey is 80

It’s probably safe to say that nearly everyone knows who Mickey Mouse® is.
The world-famous American cartoon character was created by Walt Disney and made his movie debut in the cartoon titled “Steamboat Willie” on November 18, 1928. Eighty years ago last Tuesday.

Have you ever been to any of the Disneyland® amusement parks?

I believe there are Disney parks in five cities.
Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California USA.
Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida USA.
Tokyo Disney Resort (includes Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea) in Maihama, Chiba Japan (near Tokyo).
Disneyland Resort Paris in Paris, France.
and
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort in Hong Kong, China.

I have been to Disney World® in Orlando, Florida and, of course, 東京ディズニーランド (Tokyo Disneyland) and 東京ディズニーシー (Tokyo DisneySea)® in Japan…but none of the others.

My kids love ディズニーランド (Disneyland)…so we’ve been to 東京ディズニーランド (Tokyo Disneyland) a number of times.

Speaking of 東京ディズニーランド (Tokyo Disneyland), not only is this year Mickey Mouse’s 80th birthday…but it’s also the 25th anniversary of 東京ディズニーランド (Tokyo Disneyland). The park opened in 1983.
(東京ディズニーシー (Tokyo DisneySea) opened in 2001).
When I came to Japan, 東京ディズニーランド (Tokyo Disneyland) was only seven years old…now 東京ディズニーシー (Tokyo DisneySea) is that old!

ハロウィーン

It’s now 十月 (October), and ハロウィーン (Halloween) is at the end of this month.

Do you celebrate ハロウィーン (Halloween)? What do you do?

When I was a kid in America, I used to enjoy doing what most American kids do at ハロウィーン (Halloween)…dressing up in a costume and walking around the neighborhood knocking on people’s doors to get candy.

Of course I’ve long outgrown any interest in ハロウィーン (Halloween) for myself…but I have three kids and once they were old enough, I wanted to take them Trick ‘R Treating. But knocking on your neighbors’ doors and asking to be given candy (or anything else, for that matter) is not something people in Japan would feel comfortable doing.

In fact, when my kids were little there was no ハロウィーン (Halloween) in Japan at all to speak of. So, a couple times, my wife made ハロウィーン (Halloween) costumes for our kids by hand and we invited some of their friends over for a “Halloween Party” at our house. We painted rabbit or mouse faces on the kids and gave them candy and played some games with them.

That was back when they were in 保育園 (Nursery School). But we still buy some candy and small bags now and let our kids give some ハロウィーン (Halloween) presents to their friends.
The only difference now is that many stores in Japan sells ハロウィーン (Halloween) merchandise and candy and costumes! So we can buy ハロウィーン (Halloween) candy and ハロウィーン (Halloween) bags with pictures of “Jack ‘O Lanterns” and black cats.

ハロウィーン (Halloween) is still pretty new to Japan though, so many people see the ハロウィーン (Halloween) stuff being sold in the stores and think it looks fun and interesting…but relatively few people actually purchase any of it because they wouldn’t have any use for a ハロウィーン (Halloween) costume (even if they have kids) or imported American candy (which is usually too sweet for Japanese tastes).

But some people do buy the ハロウィーン (Halloween) decorations and ハロウィーン (Halloween) costumes because there’s beginning to be more and more to do to celebrate ハロウィーン (Halloween) in Japan (even if the average Japanese person isn’t 100% sure exactly what date in October the holiday falls on…or how the holiday is celebrated in other countries).

Here are a couple pictures of ハロウィーン (Halloween) pumpkins, candy, and other goods that a store was recently selling. I didn’t have my camera with me…so I took these two photos with the camera on my 携帯電話 (cell-phone):

So, if you’re in the Tokyo area at ハロウィーン (Halloween) time and you want to celebrate it “Japanese style, here are some of the places you can go:

• Tokyo Disneyland…from mid-September until October 31, Disneyland has special ハロウィーン (Halloween) decorations and events (for example, if kids see any staff dressed as a witch, then can say “Trick ‘R Treat” and get a treat. There’s also face painting available).You can enter the park during ハロウィーン (Halloween) time wearing a costume…provided that it’s a Disney themed costume.

  The Tokyo Disneyland Halloween 2008 website page is here.

• ハローハロイィーンパンプキンパレード (Hello Halloween Pumpkin Parade) in 表参道 (Omotesandou, Tokyo)…on the last Sunday of October at 11:00AM-6:00PM.Their website is here (日本語 (Japanese only)).
• ハロウィーン in 多摩センター (Halloween In Tama Center) in Western Tokyo on the last weekend in October.Events include Trick ‘R Treating, Jack ‘O Lanterns, etc.

  Their website’s in 日本語 (Japanese only) here.

• Roppongi Hills Happy Halloween Parade

…on the last Saturday in October.

Their website is here.

• Kawasaki Halloween…on the last weekend in October in 川崎 (Kawasaki (south of Tokyo)).They have a Halloween parade and kids 12 and under can go to stores in the shopping center that have the Halloween poster in their window and say “Trick ‘R Treat” to get candy. The kids don’t necessarily need to be in costume.

  When my daughters were under 12, we went to this event. A couple pictures that I took of people in the Halloween parade can be seen on this post.

  The Kawasaki Halloween 2008 website (in 日本語 (Japanese only)) is here.

• 元町ハロウィーン (Motomachi Halloween)…in 横浜 (Yokohama) on October 31.Their website (in 日本語 (Japanese only)) is here.
• Tokyo American Club Halloween Monster Mash…on the last Saturday in October.The Tokyo American Club is a very exclusive club with membership by invitation only (plus their membership fees are extremely steep). But if you’re a member, they have a Halloween event (but you’d probably already know about it). I don’t have a membership…so I’ve never been.

  Their website is here.

• 山手線ハロウィーン・トレイン (Yamanote Line Halloween Train)…late October on the Yamanote Train Line in Tokyo.This is an unauthorized (and unapproved) event started by foreigners in Tokyo. Every year, some (adult) foreigners meet at a designated time and train station wearing Halloween costumes. I haven’t ever participated in this (I haven’t worn a Halloween costume since I was a child)…but I’ve heard that the police and train attendants try to stop it every year because the participants usually drink alcohol and act rowdy on the normally quiet Tokyo trains.