I'm dreaming of a blue Christmas

Very pretty! But it's strange that Christmas now seems to end on 25th December, when traditionally Christmastide started then.

As soon as I saw the photo, I smiled. I knew three things right away:

Someone would complain about energy use. Someone would complain about the lights being blue. Someone would complain about the lights being turned off the day after Christmas.

JT readers never disappoint!

JohnBecker, you nailed that one....

I like the lights, it's nice stuff. And if you think Christmas is commercial in Japan, well, yah, it is. But at least they're not being hypocrites about it like half the people in the USA as they go out on Thanksgiving day to shop rather than hanging with family....

I've never known the Japanese to miss a chance for a celebration until the tsunami.

BTW, I'm one of the weirdos who misses snow on Christmas. This global warming thing is no fun at all!

Beautiful. when it comes to Christmas, Japan have one of the most beautiful displays anywhere.

Wow! My absolute favorite!....Blue Christmas.....I like it! I like it alot!

To the Japanese Christmas is a marketing dream and nothing more. Ideally these lights should stay on as all Christmas lights should until then end of January 3 then be switched off until Dec 1. Having them on in November is kind of odd if they switch them off on after RIGHT AFTER Christmas day.

I miss the soft warm glow of traditional lights. You know the ones with that romantic vintage warmth. The new lights are over bright like ceiling lamps in homes here. The colors are cold and stark and remind me more of dance clubs than the holidays.

I made a point of buying LEDs that have an incandescent glow this year. It will be a gently lit warm and romantic holiday season at my place. I get enough overlit neon intensity every time I step outside at night in Japan. Who needs more?

^^^ Should move to Australia!

we have surfing santa every year

Blue Christmas beats white Christmas any day.

To the Japanese Christmas is a marketing dream and nothing more.

To all Japanese? You must be tired from all your surveys and other research. And this would be opposed to markets in other countries I guess.......................................................................

Ideally these lights should stay on as all Christmas lights should until then end of January 3 then be switched off until Dec 1.

Ideally for you? For the Japanese? For all 7 billion people in the world? I hope the Christmas lights don't get in the way of various celebrations at year-end etc.

Cool !

They can keep the decorative lights. Why not turn off more of the everyday lights. To be honest I rather liked Tokyo much more when everyone had turned down the level of outside neon and lighting following the quake. It made the city feel less plastic and a lot more inviting.

For our household we turn off everything but the holiday lights and relax under a blanket a few nights a week. Saves power and rests the soul too.

Go to the Tokyo Midtown english website and it has this...

*For energy-saving reasons, some of the lights as well as water installations at our facilities are switched off.

LOL

To the Japanese Christmas is a marketing dream and nothing more

Wellll... it's a marketing dream in ANY country

@Kwatt or Guam, they make snowmen out of palm trees and coconuts there.

It makes my heart very cold. I hate cold, snow, etc. I wish hot Christmas.

LOOK, BEAUTIFUL LIGHTS! but shouldn't they be conserving energy with the suspended nuclear reactors?

Blue Christmas lights? Yeah they really put me in a cheery holiday mood. Not.

Beautiful stuff, and makes for a nice atmosphere. But despite the places here using mostly LEDs they still realize they're sucking up heaps of power when power companies are threatening black outs (if more plants aren't restarted), right?