Celebrating Thanksgiving in Japan (2014)

I am pleased to say that I got to have my first real Thanksgiving in Japan! Actually, it was the first time in like 4 or 5 years for me to have a legit Thanksgiving dinner since my University was far away from home, and I only returned 3 times a year.  Besides having a real Thanksgiving dinner this year which I will explain shortly, I also celebrated in two other ways. First, sharing my culture with my students in class was a good way to celebrate. I made a Thanksgiving bulletin board and did a presentation in class. It got me in the spirit. Second, I went to Tin’s Hall again this year for their Thanksgiving dinner. I went with the same two people as last year, so it’s becoming our little tradition. I’m thankful to say that getting sh*tfaced on countless glasses of red wine and puking it up in a station bathroom on the way home is not a tradition that made it into this year haha!

My Thanksgiving bulletin board.

I was lucky enough to be invited to my friend and his girlfriend’s house for Thanksgiving. They did all the cooking, and I only brought dessert, cheese and crackers and some wine. It felt so homey because they had a winter-scented candle burning, Christmas music playing, and a festive attitude. The food was great! We had to replace turkey with chicken because they were only selling whole turkeys at Costco this year instead of turkey breast like last year apparently. A whole turkey doesn’t fit in small Japanese ovens. It was no big deal though. The chicken turned out nicely. Before eating, we went around the table and said what we are thankful for and toasted, just like I always do at home. We ate until we couldn’t move and enjoyed conversation over dinner. It was by far the best Thanksgiving I’ve had since moving to Japan. *flashback to my first year when I sat on my couch alone on Thanksgiving eating a bowl of gravyless mashed potatoes for my meal feeling sorry for myself*

Thanksgiving dinner!

My turkey-shaped pumpkin cupcakes hehe.

Dinner at Tin’s this year didn’t disappoint, and I got to eat turkey here, so it all worked out. Yes, I enjoyed a bottle of red wine spilt with my friend, but I left quite sober, not wanting a repeat of the previous year. Of course, Thanksgiving at Tin’s wouldn’t be complete without a dance competition between my friend, Ken, and the DJ!

Tin's Hall Thanksgiving tradition.

Last year...

This year. Haha!

So last, I’d like to say some things that I’m thankful for. I’m thankful for having a job that allows me to be financially independent, travel, and enjoy myself. I’m thankful for this experience of living in Japan. I’m thankful for my wonderful, loving, supportive, and hilarious family. I’m thankful for my friends here in Japan and back in America. I would be nothing without them. I’m thankful for meeting my incredibly kind, gentle, loving, funny, respecting, generous boyfriend this year and the many enjoyable experiences we’ve had. Lastly, I am thankful for my health. My body may not perfect, but there are so many people out there who have it way worse than I do. Thank you for reading!