{"id":2213,"date":"2020-03-10T19:44:35","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T10:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com?p=2213"},"modified":"2020-03-16T18:51:55","modified_gmt":"2020-03-16T09:51:55","slug":"new-years-in-japan-and-customs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/japanese-apartment-life\/new-years-in-japan-and-customs\/","title":{"rendered":"New Years in Japan and Customs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the\nbiggest celebrations across the planet, New Year\u2019s is one of the best holidays\nto experience in Japan. It holds many traditions that had started in China and\nother Asian cultures. The stores have all kinds of sales, the people are all\nready to throw parties, and the students get to enjoy a much-needed break from\ntheir studies. There are some things that may interests tourists and foreign\nresidents alike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

New\nYear New Start<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Japanese\nculture, the new year brings in a fresh slate for everyone. All of the old\nproblems that used to bug you can easily be remedied by the fresh start. This\nmeans that everything is able to change for the better, or for the worse. You\nare supposed to complete any unfinished business before the new year so you can\nhave the best chances of having good luck. Make sure to set your goals for the\ncoming year as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Party\nParty Party<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This time of year\nis definitely a time for the people to cut loose, and release all of the stress\nthat had built up over the year. The usual life of a salaryman in Japan\nrequires them to go to drinking parties after work to build interpersonal\nrelations. The end of year parties, bonenkai, are times for people to relax\nwith family and friends. This means that if you have any plans to do some\npartying on New Year\u2019s, you can have a large number of choices. Shibuya has\nbecome the largest party destination in Japan for the holidays and drawing\nlarger and larger crowds every year. It has gotten so big that police have to\ncall in extra help to deal with the extra-large crowds. Enoshima is a popular\nspot to watch the sunrise on a new day. It is seen as a spiritual place to see\nthe new daybreak. If you want a party of a different kind, you can charter a\nclimb up Mt. Fuji to watch the sunrise above the clouds. This is not the safest\ntime to it, but it is offered to some. The major landmarks all have some sort\nof gathering and can be a good place to enjoy Japanese traditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Traditions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are some\ntraditions that almost everyone in the country follows, such as hanging\nornaments made from bamboo and pine cones. There can be found at every\nconvenience store and department stores around the country. Viewing the first\nsunrise of the year is a big thing as well, and people tend to flood the\nstreets or special areas to get the best views. There is also the tradition of\nvisiting the temples and hearing the ringing of the bells at midnight. You can\nalso get your fortunes there, where you can get the best or worst versions. If\nyou happen to get a bad one you can tie it to one of the strings or to a wall,\nand pray for your fortunes to change. There are some games that are typically\nplayed such as Japanese badminton and karuta. There are stands that are set up\nnear major spots, like shrines, that sell the traditional new years food and\ndrink osechi and ozoni. Another popular food for New Year\u2019s is toshikoshi soba\nwhich is meant to represent the crossing of the years. Be sure to check the\narea around you to find the best places to enjoy the festivities. They send New\nYear\u2019s cards in red envelopes to family members, mostly children, that are\nfilled with money. They are marked to be delivered on New Year\u2019s day and\nchildren are most excited for the moment they receive them. There has been an\nannual televised music program that has been broadcasted for many years that\ngets some of the most popular music acts in Japan to perform on live television\ncalled the kohaku uta gassen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Transportation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The usual modes\nof transportation in Japan shut down sometime after midnight on a normal\nworkday. On New Year\u2019s they run all day long, at least the trains do. It is the\nonly time in the entire year that they do a 24 hour run time, and everyone\ntakes advantage. Be prepared for fully packed trains, and the trouble that\ncomes with partying all night long. The police will be watching the stations\nclosely to help take care of any problems that arise. Buses will run at their\nnormal times, so you may be in for a long walk from the station. Taxis run as\nper usual and other driving apps work the same as well. You can enjoy yourself\nwithout any worry about finding your way back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

New Year\u2019s is the\nbiggest holiday every year in Japan. It is the one time almost everyone will\ntake a vacation, and most stores will close early or all day in observance. If\nyou plan to travel to Japan during this time, make sure to keep in mind that it\nhas become a popular country in recent years for the holiday. Be mindful of the\nlocal etiquettes, and try to party responsibly. Make sure to try all of the\ntraditions that you can and fully immerse yourself in the country. It will turn\nout to be one of the best experiences you will have in Japan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the biggest celebrations across the planet, New Year\u2019s is one of the best holidays to experience in Japan. It holds many traditions that had started in China and other Asian cultures. The stores have all kinds of sales, the people are all ready to throw parties, and the students get to enjoy a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2214,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese-apartment-life"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}