an xmas tree in japan

last weekend i traveled up to osaka (大阪), again, to hang out with some good friends from boston. i think its such a strange coincidence that so many of us boston kids live so close to each other here in japan - but i sure am thankful for it. friday night we partied in kobe (神戸) and ran into lots of overly-friendly ridiculously-drunk japanese businessmen. it was hilarious but uncomfortable for both me and the ladies. so uncomfortably hilarious..

saturday we ate a homemade breakfast (thanks gabby!) and hung out. we even drank some starbucks, which is a rare treat for me these days seeing as how the closest one to me is more than two hours away. when the sun went down we walked to the umeda sky building (梅田スカイビル) in osaka to see this years german xmas festival. yes, i know it sounds pretty random, but apparently theres a significant german population in osaka.

two saint nicks

actually used as a cookie-baking kitchen

a scandinavian and a german troll

the world changed before our eyes as we entered the festival: multi-colored xmas lights adorned the buildings; the smell of mulled wine teased our noses (and for 900 yen it teased our bellies too); food stands selling hot dogs and german sausages (which i was told were quite tasty) lined our path; and in the center of the whole thing stood a huge xmas tree covered in lights blinking in time to the xmas music playing in the background.
im not usually into xmasy things, but it actually felt good participating in a few familiar traditions after living away in a foreign country for so long.

at the top of the umeda sky building (梅田スカイビル)