Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu!

Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe 2009 is over. It went by so unbelievably fast for us! And we've been in Japan more than 7 months now - wow! We've experienced so much already and still have tons to look forward to over the next 2 1/2 years. I'm trying so hard to be a sponge - really just soak it all in. Soooo, since New Year's is the biggest Japanese holiday, we took advantage of several cultural experiences over the holiday weekend.

We spent New Year's Eve in Tokyo - so fun! Dinner and drinks with friends, Bingo and jan-ken-pon (rock-paper-scissors) with the entire restaurant, and last but not least, mochi pounding!

Mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year. It's made by pounding rice into a paste (see above). The restaurant let us have a try at the pounding and I was surprised by how sticky the paste was...it was tough getting the mallet out of it! Definitely a good way to get rid of frustrations though - slamming that mallet down was fun! Once the rice is the right consistency it can be eaten plain or with sugar, bean paste, sesame seeds, etc... the consistency took a little getting used to, but all in all I liked it -reminded me of a very thick, sticky cream of wheat...

On New Year's Day, I followed the crowd to the local shrine by our house. Normally, this shrine is virtually empty, but on New Year's day there was a line all the way down the street to get in! Shane wasn't feeling well so I went on my own (in the freezing cold!) but it was worth it.

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Each person rang the bell (attached to the colored ropes), bowed, clapped twice, bowed, gave an offering, and said a prayer.

I was the only non-Japanese person that I saw the entire time (as this isn't a touristy shrine) and there was nothing in English, so I asked a couple what the purpose of the giant wreath was. They explained that they believe a ring or circle is completion and by making a complete circle thru the wreath before walking up to the shrine will make your wishes come true. I found out the significance of the arrow I'm holding a few days ago from Haruko, a lady in my kimekomi class (I'll do another post about it soon!) The arrow is used to kill the devil and is suppose to bring good health. It is traditional to bring the previous year's arrow, leave it at the shrine and purchase a new one to keep until next year to ensure health and happiness for the coming year.

A beautiful door decoration...these are hung in all different shapes and sizes for New Year's. Families also do New Year cleaning the last few weeks of December - kind of like our spring cleaning, but they are MUCH more serious about it - our neighbors cleaned the inside AND outside of their house and the whole family was involved which is pretty unusual.

On December 2nd we went to the Imperial Palace to "meet" the Emperor. This was one of only 2 days each year that the public is allowed on the inner grounds of the Palace.

The Emperor and family "meet" the public - on a balcony behind bullet proof glass. They waved, he made a 2-3 minute speech, and then they went back inside and we were herded out.

It was by far the most quiet public figure event I've ever seen. There wasn't cheering or shouting, just the soft rumble of everyone waving Japanese flags! Wow were there a lot of people though!

I think it's pretty cool that we have met the Emperor of Japan!