Photo courtesy of the Ritz Hotel, Osaka, Japan.

Christmas eve, and full to the brim of ads for "Christmas cake".

A curiosity in Japan for someone raised on homemade fruitcake is the Japanese Christmas cake. Christmas cake, wedding cake, birthday cake.... all soft.

Tonight on Christmas eve t.v, one trivia program brings out a list of Japan's top selling cakes. I missed number 10 in the scrabble to find a pen a paper, but my apartment is small so we can go from number 9:

9 - Cheese cake

8 - Fruit cake (sponge with strawberries sandwiched in cream)

7 - Chocolate gateaux (sponge)

6 - Chocolate cake (sponge)

5 - Short cake (not the Scottish type, a soft sponge)

4 - Monblan

3 - Eclair

2 - Special shortcake ( I have no idea, but it was soft)

1 - Cheaux cream

All soft. In the first few years of living in Japan, and living through the Japanese Christmas cake commercial season, I often wondered if Japanese people were weak teethed. How would you explain the cake mania that does not include a firm fruitcake?

Some differences...