New Year’s in Japan

New Year’s or Oshogatsu (正月) in Japan is one of the most important holidays. Most people will return home to spend the time together with their families. Many people visit a temple at Midnight on December 31st as Buddhist temples all around Japan ring their bells a total of 108 times to symbolize the 108 human sins in Buddhist belief and to get rid of the 108 worldly desires.

New Year’s Day is meant to be full of joy and happiness with no stress or anger. Everything should be clean and you should not work on this day. It is tradition to visit a Shrine or Temple during Oshogatsu.


Here are some traditions and customs that are followed during New Year’s in Japan

Shimekazari - a small rope made from rice straws, with carefully crafted zigzag-shaped paper strips called shide. Shimekazari is used to keep the bad spirits away.

Image by h_okumura

Toshikoshi Soba – eaten on New Year’s Eve and symbolises longevity.

Image by gaku

  
Osechi Ryori (御節料理) – special dishes served during New Year’s and usually consist of konbu (boiled seaweed), kamaboko (fish cakes), kinpira gobo (burdock root), and kuromame (sweetened black beans).

Image by beegkahuna

 Ozoni (お雑煮) – a soup made with mochi (rice cakes) traditionally served on New Year’s Day.

Image by kimubert

 
Nengajo (年賀状) – Japanese custom of sending a New Year’s Day postcard to friends and relatives. It is very similar to our custom of sending Christmas Cards.

Image by Blue Lotus

 
Otoshidama (お年玉) – special money given to children on New Year’s Day. It is handed out in small decorated envelopes by family and relatives. The amount varies depending on the age of the child, but typically will be either ¥5,000 (USD$60) or ¥10,000 (USD$120).

Image by yuisotozakiphotography

Mochi (餅) – a favourite custom is creating mocha or rice cakes from boiled sticky rice. This is usually made before New Year’s Day and eaten during the start of New Year’s in January.

Hope you have a great New Year's and all the best for 2012

Merry Christmas from Japan Australia

Wishing all my followers and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Let's hope for a great 2012 and many more great years to come.

Japan on a Budget

Japan is a great tourist destination and it is possible to visit Japan on a budget. Here are some money saving tips to help you on your next trip.

Travel

If you plan to do a lot of travelling in Japan then it is worth getting the Japan Rail Pass, which allows unlimited travel on almost all JR trains, including the shinkansen (excluding the Nozomi superexpress). This pass can only be purchased outside of Japan and will save you travel money in Japan.

In Tokyo, most of the main sights and hot spots can be visited via the JR Train Line (Yamanote loop line) with a one-day JR train pass for 730 yen (about USD$9). You can also look at regional pass like the JR Kanto Area Pass.

Accommodation

Possibly the biggest expense will be accommodation, but there are quite a few cheaper options including:

Capsule Hotels – which range in price from about USD$40-$50 a night with access to baths and sauna.

Minshuku Japanese style guesthouses – are great simple accommodation ranging from about USD$37.

Business Hotels – a great compromise with prices around USD$70 for a single room and USD$100 for a double. I recommend the Toyoko Inn hotel chain located all over Japan as they include free breakfast, TV, and internet connection in your room.

Food

Prices at regular Japanese restaurants are usually USD$8-$15 a meal, but food can cost you as little as USD$5-8 a meal if you eat at budget Japanese restaurants like Yoshinoya, Sukiya, and CoCo Ichiban Curry House. Look for lunch set specials, which are great value and cost as little as USD$7-8. Some fast food restaurants have them even cheaper at around USD$5.

Attractions

Many attractions in Japan are free including temples, shrines and gardens. The more famous attractions will charge an entrance fee but this is usually as little as 500 yen about USD$6.

I would say about USD$80-100 per day is possible done on a budget. Start saving and plan a trip to Japan on a budget in 2012.

Ue Kara Mariko by AKB48

This week’s Japanese Song of the Week is Ue Kara Mariko by AKB48 which has debuted at number 1 on the Japanese JPop Oricon charts. AKB48 is a popular all girl idol group, which you can read more about here. This is AKB48’s 5th number 1 single of 2011 and they have dominated the Japanese JPop Oricon charts with the top 5 selling singles of the year in 2011.



2011 JPop Oricon Yearly Ranking Singles

1. Flying Get - AKB48 (1,587,229)
2. Everday Kachuusha - AKB48 (1,586,840)
3. Kaze wa Fuiteiru - AKB48 (1,418,888)
4. Ue Kara Mariko - AKB48 (1,198,864)
5. Sakura no Ki ni Narou - AKB48 (1,079,460)

AKB48 Official Website

This is a very upbeat and happy song. Watch a CDTV live performance of the single Ue Kara Mariko by AKB48

Nabana no Sato Mie, Japan

Nabana no Sato (なばなの里) located in Kuwana City in Mie Prefecture, Japan is a must see place if you are ever in the Mie area. Nabana no Sato is a theme park focused on flowers and is part of the Nagashima Onsen (長島温泉) resort area.


The park has a number of different restaurants, some traditional shops, an onsen and one of Japan’s finest winter illuminations. The Illuminations runs for about 4 months from mid November to mid March and are a perfect way to spend the festive season in Japan.

Winter Illumination from Mie Tourism Guide

The Nabana no Sato grounds are home to various sections dedicated to flowers with the flowers changing throughout the year depending on the season.

The Middle of the Park from Mie Tourism Guide

There is a big greenhouse with an amazing range of flowers and the flowers bloom all year round. Sato no Yu is a large garden with an outdoor bath for those who love Japanese onsen (hot springs).

Green House full of flowers from Japan Australia

One of my favourite parts of the park is the full size beer hall, which is a place to relax and enjoy some of the local beer on offer. There are 3 types of local beer plus some tasty izakaya style snack food.

Nabana no Sato

• Location: 270 Komae, Nagashima-chō, Kuwana-shi, Mie-ken, 511-1144
• Opening Hours: 9:00 am to 9:00 pm
• Entry Fee: Standard ¥1500 Winter ¥2000
• Begonia Garden admission: Adults: ¥1,000; Elementary/junior-high students: ¥700; Infants: ¥200

Note: Entry fee includes ¥1000 worth of coupons which can be used within the park

Japanese Song of the Week SPICE by Perfume

This week’s Japanese Song of the Week is SPICE by Perfume which has debuted at number 2 on the Japanese Jpop Oricon chart.

Perfume (パフューム) is a Japanese all girl pop/techno trio from Hiroshima, Japan. They debuted locally in 2001 and made their major label debut in 2005 as an electropop act. SPICE is Perfume's 11th single.

The group formed in 2000 and named themselves Perfume as all three members had the Japanese character for fragrance (香) in their names. In 2011 their song “Polyrhythm” was chosen for the Pixar movie, Cars 2 soundtrack.


Watch the music video for the single SPICE by Perfume