New Year

In Japan, the start of a new calendar year holds much more significance than just the start of a new year. It is much like our Chinese New Year, where most Japanese return back to their hometown to celebrate the new year with their family.

The day begins with a trip to the local shrine. Usually you can see many Japanese women deck out in their exquisite kimonos as they make their way down to pray for safety, happiness, or longevity. Already while I was there in Decemeber, some random few obasans were spotted in their beautiful kimonos at the shrines, after which they dropped by the local kimono shop to have their new year outfit made.

It's the time of the year where it's really cold in Japan. While I was there, almost all parts of Japan were experiencing heavy snow except Tokyo. It was an exceptionally cold winter for them.



To fight the coldness, the kimonos were usually paired with a faux fur shrug which somehow made the overall look more exquisite than it already is.

While at the shrine, other than doing the standard routine of drop-your-coin-clap-your-hands-twice-and-say-your-prayers, the Japanese will also pick up lucky charms called omamori. There are different sorts of omamori in different shape and sizes for different purposes. They'll also draw fortune slips called omikuji. Donate ¥100, and then you'll get to draw a lot. If the lot is good, you keep it. If the lot is bad, there's usually a place where people can tie their bad fortune slip and leave it behind to counter their bad fortune. While I was there, I had to draw an omikuji, otherwise it wouldn't really be considered a trip to Japan.

I opened my K-On! new year package on the start of the new day of a new year.

Inside there was a Yui omamori~~~ I love omamori. I bought quite a few omamori this trip too! Beside the omamori is a tiny K-On! ema, sometimes called a votive tablet. This is a wooden plaque which Japanese will buy at the shrines, write down their wish on the back of the plaque and then hang it at the shrine. One such ema usually cost around ¥500. I bought one authentic one from the Meiji-jingu just for keepsakes.

Then there's the toshikoshi soba which is supposed to be eaten on New Year's eve. There's instructions on the back of the box teaching you how to cook them. Eating soba on New Year's eve symbolises longevity to the Japanese.

Then there's this funny thing which is completely new to me.

This is the kagami mochi. On the back of the box, you are taught to display the kagami mochi on the 迎春 piece of paper which comes in the package. The K-On! little card is placed behind the kagami mochi as such.

I'm aware that Japanese traditionally eat rice cakes during new year, but this kagami mochi, also known as the mirror rice cake is something new to me. It appears that the kagami mochi is displayed during the new year until the 2nd Saturday or Sunday of January. On that day, the kagami mochi will be broken and eaten in a Shinto ritual.

This is all very interesting to me. The K-On! kagami mochi is actually rather like a sealed jelly. There is a seal on the top which you'll have to peel open before you can eat them. When displayed, you can't see the seal coz the kagami mochi is inverted. I tried pressing the seal and the kagami mochi inside felt rather hard. I'll probably try it when I feel more adventurous one day, and when my stomach feels up to it. It's not exactly fun spending the new year sick in bed~