You want turkey or kfc for christmas? If you want to cultural xmas stuff, Van, if not, Japan.

Neither! (I’m vegetarian) Just want to be away from what I normally do for Xmas, and have a break post PhD

Oooh tough choice. I think Vancouver, because it's a lovely city *and* would give me the cold dark Northern Hemisphere Christmas that I miss in NZ. But which bit in Japan?

Not sure which part of Japan - haven’t got much beyond thinking I just want to be away for Christmas lol

Japan will also be cold and dark at that time 😁

True, but I'm not sure Christmas would feel quite the same to me.

I have been told that if you ever want to go to Japan, Christmas is a great time because there are practically no tourists there in comparison to the rest of the year.

Oh that’s good!

Obviously I’d choose Vancouver, but are you open to other Canadian locations too? Or is Van easiest as it’s a single direct flight?

Well I know someone in Vancouver so would go to see them, but would potentially go elsewhere for some of the time

Ohhhh, yes especially if you’ve got a friend there to visit, then definitely do that!!

depends on how much you like Christmas? Vancouver will be very much xmas decorations, trees, santa, holiday stuff whereas Japan will be more subdued. note: I have not been to either country during that time.

Always found Christmas in Japan underwhelming (New Year better, though), but that was 20 years ago. There look to be some pretty amazing winter illuminations in Tokyo. Tokyo Winter Illumination Guide | The Official Tokyo Travel Guide, GO TOKYO share.google/v55H3uXNrzVq...

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, in the sense I don’t need it to be Christmas necessarily. I’d be quite happy with a rest focused retreat somewhere scenic lol The illuminations look cool though

If it's a rest somewhere quiet and scenic you want, one of the hot spring towns in the mountains could be an option. E.g. Yudanaka in Nagano Prefecture Yudanaka Onsen Japan | Reviews share.google/rRfgHoufwx1D...

Or Myoko Kogen in Niigata Prefecture Onsen in Myoko - Myoko Tourism share.google/VM8Fo1mNu3LZ...

Depends how you feel about snow, though! If you want to avoid that, stay the Pacific side rather than the Sea of Japan side.

Thanks for the recs! I like snow generally 😊❄️

January 1-3 are public holidays, with shops tending to be closed on the 1st at least, but it's peak temple and shrine season (NB it will be crowded). There will be lots of food stalls clustered around temples and shrines, which is good fun.

I've not been to Japan yet. So I'd choose Japan for all the cultural sites, temples, artisans, museums, and art galleries. I think I would grow more as a person in Japan. In Japan I would be harder because of the language barrier so I would be intellectually and culturally challenged.

*typo 'it' not 'I'

For me, Vancouver is more of a summer thang as I don't ski. But then again I've only been there in summer. 🤷

I don’t ski either. And summer makes travel hard for me, so going anywhere cold makes things easier

Obviously I'm coming to it as someone who lived there for 9 years, so it's a bit different than visiting as a tourist. But generally speaking (rather than Christmas specifically), I'd recommend visiting Japan (just avoid July and August, bc super hot and humid)

I've always wanted to go to Japan but I had saved Japan for my older years. So here's hoping I can get well enough to visit.

I’d go to Japan, but probably because Japan is higher on my travel wish list generally speaking.

It’s mostly higher on my travel list to, but I have a friend in Vancouver that I’m closer to than the couple of ppl I know in Japan (probably wouldn’t stay with any of them)