Random Picture #137

Click this picture to load a bigger one. Picture courtesy of BlogD (used with permission).

Americans are always whining about the Christmas creep, and I have literally seen it as Halloween approaches. At the local Walgreens drug store, the Halloween candy is literally framed by large quantities of Christmas candy and decorations that seem to waiting for the moment when they can drop down like red and green ninjas into the space vacated by ghost-, vampire-, pumpkin- and witch-themed bags of treats. It looks like they literally cannot stand the wait.

The picture above, if you can read a bit of Japanese, makes it clear that America isn't the only place that gets ahead of the game on such things. If you look in the lower right hand corner of the window, you can see a poster of a model in a Santa hat holding a bucket of Christmas fried foodstuffs. This picture was taken in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, on October 21 by my brother-in-law. 

Though I personally am not troubled by Christmas creep, I think this one is a more defensible one even among those who find it annoying. KFC has to fulfill a lot of orders for the Japanese traditional dinner experience and the earlier they know what to expect the better. What is more, their ability to fill them in a timely fashion is limited and customers may actually appreciate the chance to get in at the head of the line as early as possible.