finding christmas... the subquest : December 21 2024

christmas is here, it can no longer be denied nor hidden.
and what better way to approach it than to embrace it head on.
one thing i love during christmas time is the colorful festive and bright mood everyone seem to posses.

after a "meaty" christmas dinner celebration with @wittyzell , @ohlnwwlknat , and the rest of the gang, we decided to stroll the surrounding illuminations for a bit.
we all had so much meat and so much alcohol intake, my cheeks were burning: this is the result of those cocktails and wine for sure.
and we happened to be near an area known for illuminations, so we might as well check it out and enjoy the air some more.

christmas is in the air, that is for sure; in most cases, christmas is the time to spend with loved ones.
one thing i missed was how my mom and i would go out and watch movies on this season.
that is my segue to the christmas theme of the mall complex nearest us, moana 2.
i have seen the first moana movie and i loved it specially the soundtrack.
i guess it's because it was a movie about pacific islanders, and the philippines of which i am from, has a connection to these group of people.
based on studies, the whole pacific people originated in taiwan, moved down to the philippines before spreading throughout the pacific islands and even to as far as madagascar.

i had no clue that the movie was releasing a sequel; if not for the decors in the area, i would not have known.
moana themed christmas trees had big tropical leaves and lots of flowers.
and i approve.

as christmas in japan is mostly spent with lovers, couples were roaming the display.
singles would really hate it going out during this season, green eyed monsters would surely be in the loose.
it was at this point when we decided to continue walking along the marunouchi area towards tokyo station.

the whole stretch of the marunouchi street was always famed for christmas displays.
even outside of the season, the street was always known for skyscrappers and high fashion stores; now it is brighter than ever.
the leafless branches now served as frames for series lights creating dramatic shapes.

of course the area also had several coffee spots, perfect for the cold weather.
strolling in this long stretch of road in this cold winter season would be best with one hand in your pocket and the other clasped in the hands of your lover.
so those of us without a special someone will need to be contented with a cup of hot coffee.

aside from the usual lights, walking the path is slowly seeming to be like side quests after side quests.
mario brothers' related displays were scattered and all we had to do was find where they were.
the first we found was the gang of mushrooms.

some of the buildings had christmas tree displays as well, this one in particular seemed like time travel related with all the wheels and cogs.

and this grand mario display, wow!
we were all happily humming the theme song of the game as we approached the area.
i guess all of us had a relation with the game at some points in our lives.

at the end of the street just in front of the tokyo station was a skating rink.
note that i specifically did not mention "ice", we were having the discussion of the century about that.
the surface looked like ice from afar, but was not wet nor had ice particles floating while these staff skated.
it seemed to be plastic with a waxy surface, nonetheless, that did not take away from the brilliance of these skaters.

the night ended with us saying our goodbyes and boarding our different trains.
for me, christmas is best spent with family, but friends are the next best thing to have christmas with.

as always, AMPING KANUNAY!