When we think of Japan, Christmas is probably one of the last things to come to mind. Still, it makes sense that a country that loves itself some kitsch would fully embrace what has become the world’s tackiest and most commercial holiday (arguments for Valentine’s Day, Halloween and Diwali will all be accepted in the comments).

So we guess it makes sense that the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise Aquarium in Tokyo has started featuring underwater shows with dolphins and scuba divers dressed as Santa Claus. Looks like our childhood fantasy is true: Santa really can be everywhere at the same time.

But listen, even if the aquarium’s dolphin show is a bit hokey, it’s still a site worth visiting during a trip through Japan. Since dollars, euros and even pounds are all virtually worthless against the yen these days, the best part of the park (after the swimming Santa, of course) is that everything at the aquarium and its adjacent Pleasure Land is a la carte. Once inside this man-made island, you can pay-as-you go to ride on the roller coaster, see the swimming mammals or swing over the sea on a giant pendulum. Japan: Cornering the Bizarre Travel market.

Related Stories:
· Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise Aquarium [Official Site]
· Japan Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise Aquarium] ]]> ced138 2008-11-19T11:05:15-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/11/14/10552/670

If you need any further evidence of Christmas Creep, here it is: The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree arrived in Midtown this morning, almost two full weeks before Thanksgiving. Say what you will about the commercialization of Jesus' B-day, but the 8-ton, 72-foot-tall, 80-year-old Norway spruce is pretty impressive.

Crews will now string the tree with five miles of wire and 30,000 solar-powered LEDs in advance of the December 3 lighting ceremony, which promises stars like Beyonce, Tony Bennett and the Jonas Brothers. The spruce will be topped by the massive Swarovski star unveiled by Fergie earlier this week.

Related Stories:
· Fergie Presents the Rockefeller Center Star [Newsday]
· Stars Lined up for Christmas Tree Event [Chicago Sun-Times]

[Photo of last year's tree: pbb]]]> pbb 2008-11-14T10:15:13-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/2/71035/99361

So it turns out that Christmas Island, a territory of Australia that's considerably closer to Indonesia, is badly misnamed. A recent account of a stay there makes it sound like Crabby Island would be much more appropriate.

With little sign of Santa Claus or any reindeer, Christmas Island is instead home to some 20 different species of crabs. If you're not carefully, a robber crab might sneak up the beach and partake of your picnic, but most of the time you can just ogle the migration habits of the red crab--yep, these crabs look cooked before they're even caught.

Apparently there's other stuff to do on Christmas Island--mostly involving diving, snorkeling and climbing--but we're totally into the crabs. Sounds like the chance of them appearing is much better than the chance of seeing Santa.

Related Stories:
· Christmas Island [Official Site]
· Crabby Times on Christmas Island [news.com.au]
· An All Year Christmas [Jaunted]

[Photo: Peter from Perth]]]> amandak 2008-07-02T09:03:09-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/12/21/103145/11

Mike Huckabee is glad to remind you that Jesus is the reason for the season. The former Arkansas governor traveled further into Iowa's heartland this week, hitting up the small towns of Dike, Marshalltown, Waterloo and Manchester. While John McCain chose to share a message with audiences in Iowa about a Christmas spent as a POW, Huckabee didn't let his audience forget that he is, after all, a Baptist minister.

Huckabee's latest campaign vid, above, is catching a little heat from conspiracy theorists who say there's a well-positioned cross in the background. We say it's too bad Chuck Norris doesn't show up in this clip, like he has in the past.

If you're not planning a trip to rural Iowa anytime soon [Ed. note: You're not?!], don't despair. You can still see the tech savvy Huckabee during his live webcast on New Year's Day. Don't worry: It's at 7:30 pm, so you'll have plenty of time to recover from the night before.

Related Links:
· Huckabee, Back in Iowa, Brings Christmas Message [NYT]
· Huckabee Live from Des Moines, January 1 [Official Site]
· 2008 Candidates Travel Coverage [Jaunted]]]> laurenuta 2007-12-21T12:30:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/12/21/105143/68

We already know that Santa is hanging out in Kyrgyzstan instead of the North Pole this year. Now the big man's hosts plan to name a mountain in his honor and put together some real-life reindeer games like chimney climbing and sled racing.

The Central Asian country--just south of Kazakhstan--has lots of remote and unnamed peaks, so turning one into Mount Santa Claus isn't a problem. And it's not an unprecedented move, as the Kyrgyzstanis have already named mountains for Vladimir Lenin and Boris Yeltsin.

Try as we may, we can't determine exactly where Mount Santa Claus is. But maybe that's for the better: Seems like the kind of place that could quickly get overrun by tourists.

Related Stories:
· Kyrgyzstan To Name Peak After Santa [BBC]
· Santa Claus coverage [Jaunted]
· Christmas coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Kyrgyzstani Mountains: Tigr]]]> pbb 2007-12-21T11:00:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/12/20/102834/90

This is our last episode of "Gossip Girl" this year, and what a long, immaculately accessorized trip it's been. It's a little bittersweet since next year will bring but two more episodes of the show we love--and love to hate.

It's Christmas Eve, and possibly only "Gossip Girl" is getting what she wants this year. Instead of getting hours of doting attention from her runaway father, Blair gets to entertain him and his model boyfriend Roman on an awkward family ice-skating outing. (They could've used our tips!) At least mom Eleanor gets a new rich boyfriend out of it--who promptly sleeps over on Christmas Eve.

Serena and Dan have a competition to see who can come up with the best $50 gift; Serena wins, but Dan wins too, because her gift is hot sex after-hours in Rufus' gallery surrounded by fake snow. But poor Rufus finally acknowledges his wife Allison is a drag on the series and proclaims his love via voicemail to Lily, while she's getting proposed to... by Chuck's dad?!

We may be a little WASPy, but we think there's been a little too much marryin' talk on the show recently, between the attempted selling of Blair and every adult in the series desperately needing that fifth divorce. So we're going to hand this Prep of the Ep to Serena, because despite her sketchy, only-alluded to past, she's become the re-ingenued girl we're rooting for.

Serena's fake snow scene was incredibly cheesy, but in that warm, "Love, Actually" sort of way. She doesn't even suspect Vanessa--whose gift to Dan was entering him in a New Yorker fiction contest, which of course he wins--of having designs on her man. What can we say? We're cheesy and it's Christmas.

[Photo: YouKnowYouLoveMe.org]]]> egw 2007-12-20T13:00:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/12/18/12422/406

French President Nicolas Sarkozy just divorced his wife two months ago--but that isn't stopping him from enjoying Disneyland Paris without a lovely companion. Sarko was spotted at the theme park, just outside the city, with Carla Bruni, a former model and present-day singer-songwriter who's been linked to Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton.

The pair were on hand to take in Euro Disney's Christmas Parade, which continues until January 6. Also on tap for Christmas at the park is Mickey's Winter Wonderland, a kid-friendly musical production, and Belle's Christmas Village, a Disney-approved holiday fair like the ones you find throughout Europe.

Oh, and unlike Sarkozy, Disneyland Paris is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year!

Related Stories:
· Disneyland Paris [Official Site]
· Nicolas Sarkozy coverage [Jaunted]
· France Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: AP Photo/Francois Mori]]]> pbb 2007-12-18T14:00:02-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/