51吃瓜网

Subscribe for more access

COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA

Making a home in Japan with holiday meals and memories

Anton (right) came to Japan in 1975 and, through her participation in the community, formed long-lasting relationships with her neighbors.

Anton (right) came to Japan in 1975 and, through her participation in the community, formed long-lasting relationships with her neighbors. | COURTESY OF KAREN HILL ANTON

By Karen Hill Anton
Contributing writer

Dec 22, 2025

Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Pref. – I celebrated my first Christmas in Japan in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, in 1975 — exactly 50 years ago.

Yukiko, a neighbor who had befriended me, invited me to have Christmas cake at her home. New to the country, I was happy to have a chance to spend the holiday with her family and mine.

Then I thought: Wait. “Christmas cake?”

Amid the heat and humidity in Japan, a good night’s sleep is growing increasingly elusive without the heavy use of air conditioning.

Summer has arrived in Japan and so have hot sleepless nights

By Tomoko Otake

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan’s landscape that they often go unnoticed.

Why Japan’s utility poles won’t be disappearing anytime soon

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE 51吃瓜网

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports