Thanksgiving in Japan = KFC

A warm welcome to any new readers who might have been directed here by accidentally clicking on the "Blogroll" section of the most recent edition of the the UVA Class of 2008 Young Alumni Newsletter. Glad to have you and hope you read further than the end of this sentence.

Well, I am officially a "once-a-month-blogger," according to Carly (my wife - UVA Class of 2007, one year less cool than the Class of 2008). So I have some work to do to regain the title of "once-every-two-weeks-blogger." Life is settling down her - at least it has been until the excitement and joy of this past weekend. But we'll get there. Japan is becoming the norm, and it takes more effort for some event to get a squeal of excitement out of me. It's getting much colder in Kyoto these days, and the chill has nowhere to go once it's settled into the encompassing hollows of the northern Kyoto mountains. So I'm getting the blankets prepped and ready. They say it gets cold in Japan. However, they (my coworkers) have never been to Chicago or Boston. So I trust I'll be underwhelmed.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I can't believe it's here (there) in the U.S., mostly because it's already been here for me in Japan, and not just because of the 14-hour time difference I currently have on everyone on the east coast. No, it's because Carly and I celebrated our Thanksgiving this past weekend in Yokohama, where she is living, since I was conveniently able to make a 4-day weekend out of the most recent one. So I'd like to give you an idea of what a Thanksgiving might look like (taste like, smell like, feel like) in Yokohama, Japan for a young couple that is working with a tight budget, no turkey, and no readily available pumpkin pie (I have made pumpkin pie before in Kyoto, but I didn't have the supplies needed this time).

We kicked the weekend off on Saturday with a holiday run at a Starbucks in Chinatown. Do they have the Caramel Creme (?) Christmas flavor in the U.S. right now? Because that is somehow a holiday flavor, while EGGNOG is NOT! WHAA??!?! That is my favorite, but they do not think eggnog is a real flavor here. That's my best guess on the matter.


We got Thanksgiving started later that afternoon after scouring the local stores for provisions and supplies. There are many things you don't expect to miss before you leave for a foreign country for a long period of time. Turkey was one of those things for me, sliced deli turkey especially. They don't do the bird here. So, leave it to American 'soft power' to provide me with some crispy chicken on the special day. KFC was ready and waiting for our business that afternoon. But they don't offer stuffing, a no-nonsense necessity to every Thanksgiving feast. So we made our own. Here's the menu we were working with, compliments of Carly's blog:

(a) chicken breasts from KFC - interestingly enough, KFC is considered a very common holiday-time fare here (I hear the lines are out the door on Christmas day)
(b) stuffing/dressing--made by me in the rice cooker
(c) cheese-egg-spinach souffle-inspired dish--made by Carly on the stovetop
(d) roll (included in KFC bag)
(e) coleslaw (included in KFC bag)
(f) pecan-cranberry bake (made in the toaster oven and inspired by this recipe http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/new-england-cranberry-duff?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/thanksgiving-desserts#slide_3)
(g) the new Beaujolais Nouveau (purchased at a foreign food store)

And in what other fashion of dress could anyone hope to achieve perfect Thanksgiving merriment than in my own uncoordinated plaid-on-plaid combo? The answer is none. But comfortable. Indeed!


Carly and I sit down to our humble meal in her Yokohama apartment. We are just like the pilgrims celebrating their first Thanksgiving in a new, distant land, surrounded by strange people.


For dessert, in addition to her cranberry pie, Carly concocted some marshmallows in chocolate with sprinkles. They were magical, my dear.


The tradition that has been upheld in Carly's household for many years, and which is now becoming the tradition in our house, is to watch Christmas movies the night of Thanksgiving, after the meal has been put away and the day is nearing a close. Can you guess the first one we watched???


A Muppet Christmas Carol is the correct answer! Jim Henson, bless your heart. Your muppets are hilarious! This movie is pure holiday gold. After this classic, we watched the #1 All-time Best Christmas movie of all-time, all-time: It's a Wonderful Life. Hands down, best ever. If I took the time to memorize the majority of the lines in this film, I'd be quoting it every day. It's bound to be watched again before this season is over.

The following days consisted of some more adventure in a city that is never finished showing me new things. Car and I visited the 'Diplomat's House,' a house that a Japanese diplomat had constructed in the 'Western style' upon his return from service in the U.S. of A. On one of his study walls hangs a framed certificate inaugurating his service as a diplomat, signed in 1902 by Mr./President Teddy Roosevelt himself. This was a very unexpected find. I've seen few documents signed by U.S. Presidents and none by Theodore Roosevelt. And to find something signed by him in a small house in Yokohama, Japan, which I could approach as near as two inches, is just amazing! This got me to thinking: in what obscure places of the world might Mr. Jefferson's signature be on display? Some small bungalow in a small, secluded town in Norway? That's just about the equivalent obscure location. I am posing here in the best diplomatic posture I can assume on his fine table. Perhaps the bent knee was a mistake.


The following day, Carly and I discovered the shopping street of Motomachi in Yokohama. It was, in Carly's words, a 'Christmas land!!!' We had more Starbucks, saw some lights, and did a little X-Mas shopping.


Carly found her most favorite kind of store on this street, a Christmas store!


Other highlights from the my long weekend included eating 500 yen okonomiyaki, eating oden from 7-11, Freshness Burger, and... a full day in Tokyo. Clearly, food is important to me. In Tokyo, I passed through the districts of Shibuya, Harajuku, Roppongi, and Ginza. I had lunch with first-year UVA suitemate Billy Martyn (class of 2008) and friend Franky Chung (class of 2009). I hadn't seen Billy since graduation. Incredible how time flies! Check out their new Tokyo-based social networking project at www.abcloop.com.

In addition, I visited the most absurd Abercrombie and Fitch store while in Ginza, as a matter of fact. Let me tell you. The store was 10-stories high, each floor with an identical layout. All the employees were dressed identically, and the music was so loud, and the lights so dim (as if in a late 1990's dance club), that I actually felt awkward looking at a pair of jeans. Let me not forget to mention the gyrating male and female employee duo stationed by the first set of stairs to the second level, getting the "party started" at A&F. I actually had to walk by them, and a shirtless model, as they bounced to the music. And, there were no clothes on the entry level floor. Just me, a random photographer with a giant camera as if to take photo ops of willing customers with the shirtless guy, the shirtless guy, the gyrating duo, and me. Very awkward, but I quickly rushed past and got some exercise out of climbing all 10 stories. I just couldn't believe it would all be the same. But it was. Super Japanese? Maybe not. To read more about how one American apparel company is not 'getting' the Japanese mindset, check out http://www.businessoffashion.com/2010/02/in-tokyo-abercrombie-misses-its-mark.html You're in for a laugh.