New Year’s Traditions and Customs in Japan

New Year’s or oshogatsu (正月) in Japanese is one of the most important holidays on the calendar in Japan. It is a time to look back to the past and follow the traditional customs of the festive season. Most people will return home to spend the time together with their family, kind of like Christmas in the West. It is also a popular tradition to visit a temple or shrine 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.

January 1st or New Year’s Day (元日) is a very fortunate day in Japan. It is meant to be full of joy and happiness with no stress or anxiety. Everything should be clean and you should not work on this day. A popular custom is to watch the first sunrise of the New Year (初日), which is meant to guarantee good luck for the New Year. It is tradition to visit a shrine or temple during oshogatsu for hatsumode (初詣), the first visit of the New Year. The bigger more popular shrines and temples are extremely crowded with people praying for health and happiness. We usually visit Inaba Jinja, which is the biggest and most famous shrine in Gifu City.

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

Shimekazari 

Shimekazari (しめ飾り) is a traditional New Year’s decoration made out of sacred Shinto rice straw rope, pine twigs, and carefully crafted zigzag-shaped paper strips called shide. Shimekazari is usually hung on the front door, and is used to keep bad spirits away as well as inviting the toshigami (歳神) or Shinto deity to visit. 

• The straw has the meaning of inviting the toshigami to remain in the house
• The opened fan signifies the wish for a prosperous future
• The stalks of rice express the hope for a good harvest in the New Year

Unlike Christmas decorations which are usually packed up and used the following year, New Year's decorations must be new as they symbolize a brand new start and a move away from the past. It is good luck to hang up the shimekazari straight after Christmas, but no longer than after the 28th of December. It is custom to remove the shimekazari on either January 7th or after the 15th, depending on which area of Japan you live.

Shimekazari 2014/2015

Shimekazari 2013/2014

Kadomatsu

Kadomatsu (門松) is a traditional Japanese New Year decoration traditionally placed in front of homes to welcome ancestral spirits or kami of the harvest. They are believed to bring prosperity and good luck for the family. The bamboo symbolizes strength and prosperity, the pine symbolizes long life, and the rope protects against evil spirits. After January 15 the kadomatsu is burned to appease the kami or toshigami and release them.

Kadomatsu

Kagami Mochi 

Kagami Mochi (鏡餅) is another traditional decoration that consists of two round mochi (Japanese rice cakes). The smaller rice cake is placed on top of the larger one with a daidai (bitter orange) on top. The two mochi represent the past year and the year ahead with the daidai, which means “generations” in Japanese representing the continuation of a family from one generation to the next. These days you can buy a modern version with the zodiac sign for the coming year on top instead of the bitter orange. This year 2014 was the year of the horse, with the New Year in 2015 being the year of the sheep.

Traditional style Kagami Mochi

2014 Year of the Horse Kagami Mochi

Mochibana 

Mochibana (餅花) is a popular New Year’s decoration that consists of branches decorated with pieces of white and pink mochi. They look like flowering branches of the blossoms in spring, and signal the coming of spring ahead in Japan.

Nengajo 

Nengajo (年賀状) is a Japanese custom of sending a New Year’s Day Card to friends and relatives. It is very similar to our custom of sending Christmas Cards. Japanese people send these so that they arrive on January 1st. It is common to feature the zodiac sign for the coming year on the card.

Toshikoshi Soba 

Toshikoshi Soba (年越しそば) is buckwheat noodles that are eaten on New Year’s Eve and symbolise longevity. It is believed that by eating these long thin noodles you will live a long and healthy life. Toshikoshi means the ending of the old year, and the beginning of the new one. It has become a modern tradition to eat toshikoshi soba while watching TV on New Year’s Eve, with the music competition Kohaku Uta Gassen (紅白歌合戦) the most popular show to watch. To ensure good luck, all the noodles must be polished off before midnight.

Toshikoshi Soba

Hatsumode 

Hatsumode (初詣) is the first shrine visit of the New Year to pray for health, happiness and prosperity for the coming year. Most people will make their visit on the first, second, or third day of the year. A common custom is to buy an omikuji, which is a fortune written on a small piece of paper. If the omikuji predicts bad luck, you can tie it onto a tree on the shrine grounds, in order for the prediction not to come true.

Hatsumode at Inaba Jinja in Gifu City 2014

Omikuji 2014

Osechi Ryori 

Osechi Ryori (御節料理) is traditional Japanese dishes served during New Year celebrations. The tradition started in the Heian Period (794-1185) with each dish having a special meaning. Osechi ryori is served in special boxes called jubako (重箱) and contain food such as konbu (boiled seaweed), kamaboko (fish cakes), kinpira gobo (burdock root), and my personal favourite kuromame (sweetened black beans).

Osechi Ryori

Ozoni 

Ozoni (お雑煮) is a soup made with mochi (rice cakes) traditionally served on New Year’s Day. Our family usually has ozoni for breakfast on New Year’s Day. Ozoni varies from region to region and from household to household.

Ozoni

Otoshidama 

Otoshidama (お年玉) is 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 will typically be something like this. 

• Babies and Pre-Schooler: ¥1,000 (USD$10) 
• Elementary School Student: ¥3,000 - ¥5,000 (USD$30-50) 
• Junior High School Student: ¥5,000 - ¥10,000 (USD$50-100)

Mochi 

Mochi (餅) a favourite custom for New Year's is creating mochi or soft rice cakes from boiled sticky rice. This is called mochitsuki (餅つき) and 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 wherever you are in the world!

Winter Illuminations in Japan 2014

One of the highlights of winter in Japan for me is the spectacular winter illuminations that decorate the Christmas period. Around this time of year, a lot of places put on spectacular night time illuminations. The illuminations usually start in late Autumn and finish around the end of December, but some last until early February. Most are FREE and definitely worth checking out as they are a highlight of winter in Japan.

Some of the most popular and spectacular Winter Illuminations for 2014 include:

Kobe Luminaire 

Kobe Luminaire in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture is a light festival, which is the original and most famous in Japan. The illuminations run for twelve days in December and are turned on for a few hours each evening. They are truly spectacular with each light individually hand painted. Kobe Luminaire started after the Kobe Earthquake in 1995 with the hope to give courage and inspire the people of Kobe. It was such a success that it has continued as an annual event. This year’s theme is “Kobe, City of Dreams and Light”. Kobe Luminaire will run from December 4-15.

When: December 4-15 
Times: Monday to Thursday (6 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.)
             Friday (6 p.m. – 10 p.m.)
             Saturday (5 p.m. – 10 p.m.)
             Sunday (5 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.)

Official Website

Image Source

Kobe Luminaire

Nabana no Sato 

Nabana no Sato is a theme park dedicated to flowers located in Kuwana City, Mie Prefecture. It has one of Japan’s finest winter illuminations that run for about 5 months from late October to late March. The park is covered in more than 8 million LED lights with the highlight, the spectacular light tunnel. This year’s theme is “Niagara Falls”, with a huge scale illumination of Niagara Falls, which is stunning at about 20 meters in height and 120 meters in width.

When: October 25 2014 – March 31 2015
Times: 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Admission: Standard ¥1,500 Winter ¥2,000

Official Website

Nabana no Sato

Shirakawa-go 

Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its gassho zukkuri farmhouses. This place has been famous for years due to its thatched roof farmhouses, but the beauty is raised to an even higher level when the houses are lit up in the snow. Spotlights illuminate the snow covered thatched roofs which makes this place look like Santa’s village in the North Pole. It is truly spectacular. This year it will run from mid January to mid February.

When: January 17, 24, 25, 31 February 1, 7, 14
Times: 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Official Website

Shirakawa-go

Sapporo Snow Festival 

The Sapporo Snow Festival in Sapporo, Hokkaido, is an annual snow festival which is a winter favourite. It is one of the largest winter events in Japan, and is also known as the “Sapporo Yuki Matsuri”. The festival is held each year in early February with dozens of large and amazingly elaborate ice and snow sculptures. The event will be held from February 5-11 in 2015 with the amazing ice sculptures lit at night creating a winter wonderland.

When: February 5-11
Times: Odori Site ~ lit daily until 10 p.m.
             Susukino Site ~ lit daily until 11 p.m.

Official Website

Sapporo Snow Festival

Some spectacular spots around the Tokai Area (Gifu/Aichi/Mie) of Japan are:

Kiso Sansen Park 

Kiso Sansen Park located in Kaizu City, Gifu Prefecture, is a popular urban city park. The park first opened in 1987 and is the largest urban park in Japan. Every winter from early to late December they have a spectacular winter illumination consisting of about 500,000 lights that decorate the park. This year’s theme is ‘Winter Lights Story’.

138 Tower Park

138 Tower Park located in Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture, is one of the best public parks in Japan. It features a spectacular 138 meter high observation tower with dual arches. From mid-November to late-December the park is decorated with around 500,000 lights creating a spectacular winter illumination. This year’s theme is “Merry Christmas”.

138 Tower Park

 
Tokyo has quite a few seasonal illuminations spots including:

• Shinjuku Southern Terrace, south of JR Shinjuku Station – November 12, 2014 to February 25, 2015 from 5 p.m. – 12 a.m.

• Ginza, Christmas trees along Chuo Street and store illuminations – November 15, 2014, to December 25, 2014 from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.

• Roppongi Hills, Christmas Illumination Event – November 4, 2014 to December 25, 2014 from 5 p.m. – 11 p.m.

• Tokyo Midtown, Midtown Christmas featuring the “Starlight Garden” – November 13, 2014 to December 25, 2014 from 5 p.m. – 11 p.m.

• Odaiba, has the “Daiba Memorial Tree" in Odaiba Kaihin Park – November 13, 2014 to March 15, 2015 from 5 p.m. – 12 a.m.

• Tokyo Dome City, 'Promenade of Light' one of Tokyo’s best with over 2.2 million lights– November 6, 2014 to February 15, 2015 from 5 p.m. – 1 a.m.

• Marunouchi, the entire district lights up with champagne lights along Naka-dori Street – November 13, 2014 to February 15, 2015 from 5 p.m. – 11 p.m.

Most places in Japan will have some kind of winter illuminations, so wherever you are in Japan, you will be able to enjoy this winter tradition.

Winter Illuminations at Nabana no Sato