In December 2023, during my final months living in Japan, I received a rare invitation to a friend’s home in Tokyo for Christmas dinner.

I was flattered. Unlike Australia, where dinner parties and backyard barbies are regular events, Japanese people aren’t big on entertaining at home. For a start, apartments in Japan are tiny, particularly in cities like Tokyo, and there is not a lot of room for big groups. Culturally, there are also reservations about letting anyone other than close relatives into one’s inner sanctum.