The Christmas Cake
The first of these traditions is the Christmas cake, found ubiquitously in convenience stores, supermarkets, department stores and pastry shops in all kinds of price ranges. One cannot help but ask several questions about the tradition.
The Christmas cake is a sponge cake covered in whipped cream, usually decorated with strawberries. The fancier versions may be topped by Christmas-themed decorations, chocolate or seasonal fruit, while convenience stores tend to sell simpler versions.
KFC
If you have not been to Japan during Christmas, you never know the most popular choice for Japanese Christmas dinner is fried chicken. Yes, this is true. The food is in such high demand during this season. This tradition of eating KFC began in the 1970s. The company’s successful marketing campaign ‘Kentucky for Christmas’ was attracted Japanese having KFC during Christmas.
Due to high demand, Japanese have to pre-order or reserve fried chicken bucket as early as November to avoid the long lines. If you do not place order in advance, you can purchase fried chicken in department stores or convenience stores on Christmas Eve.
Yuzu
Mid-November to mid-January is yuzu season, which means that winter is prime time for this Japanese citrus. Luckily, those eager for a dose of its Vitamin C will not have to go far to find it from yuzu-flavored KitKat and yōkan (agar jelly cake) to cold-curing yuzu tea and yuzu-shaped cakes, you will come across it in abundance during Christmas time.
Wagashi
Some of people like to eat Christmas cake during Christmas season. However, Japanese people like to eat Wagashi instead of cakes. Wagashi is a traditional Japanese sweet in different shapes, sizes and colors. Normally the sweet are remain traditional ingredients such as red bean (anko), mocha, rice and agar jelly. The important is Wagashi tend to be much less sweet than other desserts.
Dinner for Two
Christmas Eve in Japan is the time to make one’s romantic feelings known. On this Valentine’s Day-esque evening, young couples dress up and head out to a fancy restaurant for a date. Christmas Eve’s reputation for being an auspicious day for love and couples is widespread, and it has become so ingrained in the culture that it can often be hard to find a seat when trying to eat out on this jovial night.