Thanksgiving Day （感謝祭)

Just a random note, but the day before Thanksgiving was also labor appreciation day (like labor day), or 勤労感謝の日.

As expected, there was no big celebration for Thanksgiving.  However, at Nanzan's World Plaza they did have a lot of information about the holiday, as well as a small craft for people who came in.  Really simple - you just had to write down what you were thankful for - but since you had to write in any other language but Japanese . . . some people struggled.

My dorm mates and I went out for KFC that night.  In a lot of Japanese people's mind, the connect KFC with Western holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I guess it's because it's not as common as McDonald's.  It could also be the fact that it's the only Western fastfood chain that serves chicken drumsticks, which is the closest thing we have here to turkey.  Yes, they don't sell turkey's at all here; if you want one, you have to import one through an independent supplier ahead of time.  ALTHOUGH, I did hear that the sports bar in Sakae was giving out turkey (it's called Shooters), but my dorm doesn't go out to places like that really.

Last night, I made apple pie with my dorm mates as well!  ^__^  Like always, it took me way too much time to make it.  We had problems with the dough (it wouldn't stick together), but the end results were fine!  Just wished we added more sugar to the dough or something to make it less bland.  >_<  I'll definitely remember next time to put in more butter and sugar and roll it out thinner.

So yes, that was my Thanksgiving celebration in a nutshell.  Like I said before, Thanksgiving is more of a historical American/Canadian holiday than a world-wide celebration.  I do hope you all are having a wonderful feast at home!  I wish I could taste Andrea's mashed potatoes and all of your delicious food!  My friend's homemade sweet mashed potatoes were fine . . . but it's just not the same.  >__<  ^__^

Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S.  For everyone: if there's something you would like me to buy for you in Japan, please tell me!