Vistors Enjoy German Christmas Market in Yokohama, Japan
- 13 years ago
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The Christmas holiday spirit is alive in Japan. And in one city, a special holiday market is making things just a little more festive. Let's take a look.
The Christmas spirit is alive and well in Yokohama, Japan. A German-style Christmas market is now open.
One of the aims of the market is to change perceptions about how people in Japan view Christmas.
[Tetsuya Okuzumi, Zato Trading]:
"As it's a Western tradition, when you talk about Christmas in Japan, it's something that was introduced relatively recently. The norm is for couples to exchange presents and such between themselves. However, one thing that we want to emphasize is the importance of family, and as such we would like people to come as a family."
The market in Yokohama is one of Japan's largest, and is being held as part of celebrations commemorating 150 years of relations between Japan and Germany.
This is the first year that there has been anything as grandiose as the Christmas market.
[Yuka Kato, Visitor]:
"I was quite surprised by the large tree. I also thought it was pretty how there are so many different colors, and liked the new feel of the place."
Some visitors enjoyed the weather.
[Ingo Kurbjuhn]:
"The biggest difference is that there isn't any snow, the weather is nice and if this were Germany it would be much colder. Even so, there's a nice atmosphere to the place and it's quite nice."
[Lee In-ho, Tourist]:
"I'm enjoying the year-end today with Yokohama's nice night view and carols. I feel it's a bit of a shame that the end-year has come, but I think it's a very nice year-end because I can see so many people joyfully greeting the year-end."
The market and its Christmas tree are scheduled to remain open until Christmas Day.
The Christmas holiday spirit is alive in Japan. And in one city, a special holiday market is making things just a little more festive. Let's take a look.
The Christmas spirit is alive and well in Yokohama, Japan. A German-style Christmas market is now open.
One of the aims of the market is to change perceptions about how people in Japan view Christmas.
[Tetsuya Okuzumi, Zato Trading]:
"As it's a Western tradition, when you talk about Christmas in Japan, it's something that was introduced relatively recently. The norm is for couples to exchange presents and such between themselves. However, one thing that we want to emphasize is the importance of family, and as such we would like people to come as a family."
The market in Yokohama is one of Japan's largest, and is being held as part of celebrations commemorating 150 years of relations between Japan and Germany.
This is the first year that there has been anything as grandiose as the Christmas market.
[Yuka Kato, Visitor]:
"I was quite surprised by the large tree. I also thought it was pretty how there are so many different colors, and liked the new feel of the place."
Some visitors enjoyed the weather.
[Ingo Kurbjuhn]:
"The biggest difference is that there isn't any snow, the weather is nice and if this were Germany it would be much colder. Even so, there's a nice atmosphere to the place and it's quite nice."
[Lee In-ho, Tourist]:
"I'm enjoying the year-end today with Yokohama's nice night view and carols. I feel it's a bit of a shame that the end-year has come, but I think it's a very nice year-end because I can see so many people joyfully greeting the year-end."
The market and its Christmas tree are scheduled to remain open until Christmas Day.