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One of Sumire Sekino's most memorable Christmases involved spending the day hopping around Tokyo's best spots with her boyfriend.
That day, he recalls, began with the couple snapping up TeamLab, an Instagram-focused and highly usable digital art installation. After that, they went up to Shibuya Sky, an observation deck located 751 meters above the ground, to catch a view of the Japanese capital.
“It was our first month together, so we were still nervous. But I was very happy to go to these places with him for the first time,” said the university student.
Another student, 19-year-old Akao Takao, looked at the sparkling lights and went to the Christmas market with his girlfriend last year, before sitting down for a belly-warming hot chocolate.
“I had an amazing experience,” he recounts.
In Western culture, Christmas is the time of year when families gather around a long table to share, open neatly wrapped presents and eat eggnog. Some go to church.
But in Japan, the holiday season has long taken on an extra, romantic dimension: it's widely seen as just another Valentine's Day..
Couples go on a special day before Christmas, look at the festive decorations, eat at fancy restaurants and stay in luxury hotels.
Love is in the air everywhere from Tokyo – where bustling districts like Roppongi and Ginza are filled with couples holding hands on the streets, lined with budding trees – to Hokkaido, where the promise of a white Christmas awaits.
A couple sits in a park in central Tokyo under Christmas lights. – Thomas Peter/Reuters/File
For guys willing to splurge, luxury hotel rooms with spectacular views — easily reaching $2,000 per night — are available, if not booked solid.
Japanese teenagers often live with their parents until they get married, so spending the night together outside the home is considered fun.
This year, the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo is offering a “romantic escape” that includes complimentary dinner credits and an outdoor rink ice skating experience. The Grand Hyatt Tokyo, on the other hand, promises a “night of love,” offering rooms that overlook the festively lit trees.
Restaurants and shops also take the opportunity to unveil special dinner sets and discounts on a variety of gifts, from chocolates to jewelry.
“It's all about spirit and spirit,” associate professor Roy Starrs, who specializes in Japanese studies at the University of Otago in New Zealand, told CNN Travel.
“Young couples go out together on days after dark to watch the attractive displays of colorful lights and this is thought to be a spirit of love that allows for new love.”
Workers dressed as Santa Claus make their way around Tokyo's Marunouchi business district. – Issei Kato/Reuters/File
A country of 124 million people, Japan's predominant religion is Shinto, and less than 1 percent of its population is Christian. However, the nation celebrates Christmas in full spirit.
Christianity entered Japan in the mid-16th century, according to Starrs, but was severely suppressed for another two and a half centuries during the Tokugawa period, an era marked by strict social order and isolationist policies.
It wasn't until after WWII that American culture began to sweep over Japan, bringing Christmas with it. But this holiday is celebrated in a unique Japanese way.
“Many Japanese people do not see Christmas as a religious event of any kind but as a spectacle of traditional Western culture—glamorous lights, Santa Claus dolls, Christmas markets, colorfully wrapped presents. [and] Christmas cookies,” Starrs said.
Japan is a society that greatly appreciates the beauty of aesthetics, he adds, so it makes sense that these festive displays, often accompanied by ample snow, include the perfect recipe for a romantic white Christmas.
A tourist looks at a Christmas installation with goldfish and colorful lights at Tokyo's Art Aquarium Museum. – Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters/File
“The couple can also exchange gifts, visit a traditional German-style Christmas market, and finish the evening at a fine French or Italian restaurant. And after all that the situation might really be worth a marriage proposal!” said the Stars.
A Christmas splurge may be one of the best gifts the Japanese government can hope for, as it tries to boost marriages and births.
Its fertility rate dropped to 1.20 last year, another record low, well below the 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population in the country.
For the older generation in what was once the world's second largest economy, luxury was the way to go, the flashier the better. Apart from expensive hotels, men often opened bottles of champagne and hired limousines to impress.
But after years of stagnation, Japan's enviable economic power has lost its luster, rising to fourth place in the world earlier this year. With the cost of living rising – boosted by the recent devaluation of the Japanese yen – young couples are looking for creative ways to celebrate.
A couple walks among Christmas lights in a shopping mall in Tokyo. – Koji Sasahara/AP/File
University student Inoue Shogo, 23, says he will avoid hotels because of the increase in prices.
“Since Western food is very expensive, since everyone wants Christmas dinner, we choose cheap food which is usually Japanese food,” he said.
Simply having a Christmas cake, staying at home for a private party, and checking out the Christmas lights have become popular among the younger generation these days, according to a recent survey by marketing firm MERY.
Yuhi Hasegawa, 19, visited Enoshima with his girlfriend last year, soaking in the festive lights and beautiful views.
The small island is an hour's train ride south of Toyko, known for its sandy beaches and relaxed lifestyle.
“We have to appreciate the time with our partners. “Instead of spending money on fancy restaurants or fancy cosmetics, staying at home, watching 'First Love' (Netflix's romantic series) and finding true love can be the perfect solution,” he said.
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