these photos were taken in 2010 just before christmas. for anyone coming from the west or ‘christian’ countries, the celebrations may seem a bit odd, especially in tokyo, or one of the other major cities. the department stores are dressed to the nines in decorations advertising christmas gift suggestions, and sparkling lights are everywhere. then on christmas day it all stops. 25^th december is an ordinary working day and the only christmas celebrations for most consists of eating a sweet, cream and strawberry covered christmas cake after a bucket of kfc nuggets and fries. ginza is traditionally the main shopping area, and certainly the most pricey. and shows off its decorations in a way which competes with and probably overshadows most capital cities in the world. after that nothing. back to normal and all of the decorations are replaced by those anticipating traditional new year or shogatsu.