Tonight is New years eve. New Years is perhaps the biggest holiday in Japan. The traditional activities are a little bit different than in Canada. Usually people stay home, eat lots of food, and watch the Kohaku singing contest on NHK (I’m watching it as we speak). Today lots of traditional New Years decorations popped up around our house. Like this one at our front door.
Also my mother in law made a nice looking Ikebana (flower arrangement) display.
Also another traditional decoration is this paper and the plastic looking snowman lump of mochi (sticky rice).
Also we ate a delicious assortment of Chinese dishes, brought from Sendai Hotel where my father in law works.
It was really yummy. We had to give food to the gods as well. Tomorrow we’ll eat soba which is a tradition as well. Well back to the festivities.
I'm originally from Canada, but now live in Japan. I like games, strange things, and trying new foods. I hope you enjoy reading my semi-interesting posts and pictures.
Makes me nostalgic for the New Years I spent in Japan (Yokohama and Tokyo) back in the 80s. Gotta love that mochi. Happy New Year!
Thanks for the comment Tom. Happy New Year to you too.
Yes, New Years is Japan’s biggest holiday.
Did you watch the Kohaku Uta Gassen TV show?
My kids wanted to watch a comedy variety. Do you know the comedy team “Downtown“?
Anyways, あけましておめでとうございます！
(Today is January 1…you’ll receive many 年賀状, I’m sure)
We did watch Kohaku. My wife recorded the Downtown special. It’s kind of weird not having the ball drop for midnight. Happy New year to you Tokyo5.
Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu. My family and I also watched the Kohaku singing contest on NHK. It was our first New Year’s Eve in Japan and yes, it is certainly much different than in Canada for sure.
On January 1, I visited Meiji Jingu Shrine in Tokyo – big mistake, as the crowd was huge and I couldn’t get anywhere close to the shrine and just left (I didn’t want to wait for hours to get in, I’m not that crazy, well, only somewhat crazy usually). Apparently, Meiji Jingu has about 3 million visitors during the New Year, wow!
Happy New Year to you to Bartman905. I experienced the New Year shrine crush a few years ago as well. I never even got close to the actual temple it was so busy. I do miss the New Year’s parties a bit. Kohaku is a bit boring I find (but of course I’ve seen it many times now). How did you like it?
> Kohaku is a bit boring I find (but of course I’ve seen it many times now). How did you like it?
I have to admit we were all multi-tasking while watching … on the computer, cleaning, organizing, playing games, etc. Also, we think Korean singers/entertainers have surpassed Japanese ones in recent years unfortunately.
I find drinking helps make it more interesting, especially during the Enka parts.