Chanukah in Japan

I have not yet written about Chanukah in Japan, so I will do so now. I did not celebrate Chanukah every night because I do not have my own chanukiyah here. However, on the third night of Chanukah I went to the synagogue near my house. Usually there are not many people at the synagogue, but a fair amount of people turned up, especially couples with children, to celebrate the holiday. While the adults prayed, the children made paper s'vivon (spinning tops) out of paper and stickers. After prayers, everyone lit the candles in the chanukiyot. Then there was a magic show featuring two Japanese men who did various card tricks, juggling, and the like, for the children's entertainment. There was also dinner, but I returned home before dinner because I didn't know there would be food so I told my host mother I'd eat at home. However, I did get to eat a sufganiyah, or jelly donut, a traditional Chanukah food. Anyway, it was interesting to meet new people at the synagogue, people who don't usually show up for Shabbat services. I don't know how many of them I'll see again soon, though, because the next time a big crowd will come will be for Passover in March.