Celebrating the New Year in Japan - Brooke & Imogen -
・Celebrating the New Year in Japan
I spent New Year's in Niigata, at my host sister's grandparents house. On New Year's Eve we watched the countdown on the TV. When the countdown finished, everyone greeted each other for the new year. My host sisters and I received otoshidama from their grandparents and cousins, aunts and uncles. At midnight my host family and I visited many shrines. At the first shine we prayed. At the second shrine we received New Year's osechi (Japanese cookie) Only the first 108 people to visit the shrine received the osechi. It was delicious. At the third shrine, after praying, we rang a bell. To my surprise it was harder to ring the bell than I expected. When I rang the bell, it made a quiet ding while everyone else's made a loud chime. After visiting some more shrines, we returned home at 12:30 am. In the morning we ate ozoni soup, with many other Japanese dishes. After lunch on New Year's, we went to the shops. During New Year's celebrations, we went to the supermarket and packed a plastic bag with as many snacks as possible. We spent 30 minutes packing a small plastic bag with about 25 packets of chips and biscuits. Pushing the trolley to the cash register was definitely a challenge as the bag was overflowing. Japanese New Year's was definitely an interesting and memorable experience.
Brooke
On the days leading up to New Year's, my host family and I did osouji in which we spent two days tirelessly cleaning the entire house. After that we prepared the osechiryouri (New Year's Cooking), including toshikoshisoba, ozouni and other interesting dishes that I had never seen before. On New Year's Eve we ate sashimi, sushi and ozouni while watching a special New Year's TV show broadcast at the grandma's house. Later on in the evening my host sister and I went to the local shrine to listen to some ohayashi (Japanese traditional music) and talk with friends. At midnight, everyone wished each other a Happy New Year, drank sake, and prayed. I was lucky enough to have a go at the taiko drum and perform on the traditional Shinto float. On New Year's day, the family and I ate the toshikoshisoba, which was delicious, and went to another shrine where we prayed some more, had our fortunes told, and rang a huge bell at the top of a hill. I also received some otoshidama (New Year's money) from the family which was good for funding my souvenir shopping later on in the holidays. Overall, New Year's in Japan was was an amazing experience which definitely gave me an insight into the differences in Japanese and Australian culture.
Imogen
