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New Year's is without doubt the most important holiday of the year in Japan. From north to south, streets are colorfully decorated in red and white to mark the occasion. Most businesses are closed December 31st to January 3rd, and it is tradition to spend time with families and enjoy special New Year's meals. Of course there are plenty of events and entertainment to enjoy as well. There is no better place than Japan to spend a festive New Year's. This edition of "Japan Now!" features ideas on how to spend your New Year’s holiday in Japan, including events both traditional and contemporary.
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1. Simply have fun, fun, fun! |
| New Year's Day is a very special time in Japan, and there are countless special events to mark the occasion. |
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| View the year's first sunrise at Tokyo Tower. |
 It is a tradition in Japan to pray to the first sunrise (“Hatsu-hinode”) of the year on the New Year's Day. It was once believed that the seven gods of good fortune would sail in with their bounty on this day. The custom of awaking early to meet the first sunrise with a prayer became widespread in the Meiji Era (1868-1912), and is still a common tradition today.
Watching the sunrise emerge from Tokyo Bay atop Tokyo's landmark, Tokyo Tower, is a magnificent experience.
Both the observatory deck (150m) and special observatory  (250m) deck of Tokyo Tower open at 6am especially for the occasion.
Numbered tickets for the special observatory deck, which is restricted to just 80 people, are distributed starting 4am. For people who visit on New Year's Day 2007, Tokyo Tower will give away commemorative medals engraved “2007.1.1”. The tower will be lit with the numbers “2007” at midnight on New Year's Eve.
Access: About 5 minutes from walk from Akabane-bashi Station, Oedo Line.About 15 minutes walk from JR Hamamatsucho Station. |
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| Count-down fireworks at Ikebukuro Sunshine City |
 Sunshine City 60, located in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo, has the tallest observatory in Tokyo (240m), the perfect venue for watching New Year's count-down fireworks. Your New Year's resolution may also be inspired by the beautiful first sunrise of the year viewed from the Sky Deck, which opens at 5:30am on New Year's Day.
 Kimono Diver Show!
At Sunshine International Aquarium, female divers wearing beautiful kimonos will make their New Year's greetings from the water (Jan 1st - 8th).
Be sure not to miss this unusual New Year event!
Access: About 8 minutes walk from Ikebukukro Station. About 17 minutes from Tokyo Station by Marunouchi Line. |
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| Don't forget about music! |
 Numerous music venues throughout Tokyo will offer live performances on New Year’s Eve.Attending a concert can be an exciting way to ring in the New Year.
Excitement is guaranteed at ‘Countdown Japan Rock Festival’, held at Makuhari Messe (in Chiba Prefecture) and Intex Osaka. Over eighty popular Japanese artists performed in 2005, and this year promises to be just as thrilling with big ticket acts.
Schedule: Tokyo: Dec.29th - Jan 1st.Osaka: Dec. 29th - 31st. Tickets available at Ticket Pia (a nationwide ticket company).
Access: To Makuhari Messe: about 5 minutes walk from JR Kaihin Makuhari Station.
To Intex Osaka: about 5 minutes walk from Nakafuto Station on the Nanko Port Town Line.
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| 2. Traditional New Year's highlights |
| There is no more traditional way to celebrate the New Year in Japan than visiting a shrine or temple. Both are crowded after midnight on New Year's Eve as people visit to make wishes for the coming year. |
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| New Year's Eve Countdown at Zojoji Temple |
 Zojoji Temple, located at the foot of Tokyo Tower, is a popular destination on New Year’s Eve. Worshippers write down their wishes for the new year on papers and attach them to environmentally friendly balloons. When the clock strikes midnight about 3,000 balloons will be released into the air while the temple bell rings out a prayer for peace and happiness.At midnight, all temples ring large bronze bells 108 times, a tradition called “Joyanokane”. Why 108 times? In Buddhism, it is said that humans have 108 kinds of earthly desires, and these desires are the source of all suffering. By ringing out the old year and ringing in the new, each earthly desire will be taken away and therefore we can start the New Year with a pure mind.The final toll will ring out just after midnight. Zojoji Temple offers the opportunity to ring the bell yourself, but prior reservations are required.
Access: About 3 minutes walk from Onarimon Station / Shiba Koen Station on the Mita Line.
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| Now, make a wish |
| The most-visited shrine in Japan during the New Year season is Meiji Jingu in Harajuku, Tokyo. The shrine is dedicated to the Meiji Emperor and Empress. About 3 million people visit this shrine to make wishes for the New Year.
 Tsurugaoka Hachimangu is also a famous shrine.It is located in Kamakura and is renowned for its Big Buddha.While visiting the shrine for the New Year, visitors encounter many people making wishes. There are many stalls in the shrines and temples. Have some "amazake" (low-alcoholic Japanese drink made from fermented rice) as it will keep you warm! Try "omikuji" (fortunes written on strips of paper) too. Ask your friend or guide to translate the results.Usually, you pay 100 yen and the "miko" (female shrine attendant) will hand you an omikuji. However at Kamakura's Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, there is also an "omikuji vending machine" and an English omikuji.
Please note that the shrines may be very crowded with people coming to make wishes!
Access to Meiji Jingu:One minute walk from Meiji Jingu Mae Subway Station on Chiyoda Line or JR Harajuku Station.
Access to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu: 10 minute walk from JR Kamakura Station (About 55 minutes from Tokyo Station to Kamakura Station by JR Yokosuka Line).
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| New Year Shopping and Dining |
| Don't miss on the best part of New Year's: Great food and shopping! |
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| Osechi Ryori (Traditional New Year meal) |
|  New Year's wouldn't be New Year's without traditional food, known as "Osechi Ryori" (traditional meal in layered, lacquered boxes).
Osechi Ryori is traditionally prepared by housewives a few days before the New Year's. It's an occasion to enjoy special dishes as a family during the holiday. If you visit a supermarket or department store in late December, you will see the various ingredients that go into Osechi. Each dish that makes up Osechi has a meaning. For example, Kazunoko (herring roe) symbolizes a wish for fertility. 
The curved shape of shrimp when boiled stands for a wish to reach an elderly age (when people are often bent like shrimp!). Most Osechi dishes keep for over week; housewives are usually busy with cooking and other household chores, but Osechi is designed to free them from working during the holiday.
Pre-made Osechi Ryori boxes are available at supermarkets or department stores.
If you are in Japan for New Year's, don’t miss out on this time-honored tradition.
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| Fukubukuro (Lucky Bags) |
After having plenty of Osechi Ryori and visiting shrines and temples, the next big thing on the list of things to do in the New Year is shopping! On Jan 2nd and 3rd (almost all stores are closed on New Year's Day), thousands of "fukubukuro" (lucky bags) are sold at department stores and other retailers. Fukubukuro contain several products packed in a paper bag that are sold at bargain prices.
 The fukubukuro from Printemps Ginza, a department store in Ginza, Tokyo, are popular among young working women. For 2007, the store plans to have about 20,000 fukubukuro featuring fashion, home furnishings, sporting goods, food, and more ready for sale. The one catch for fukubukuro: you cannot see what is inside until you pay. However, that’s part of the fun!
Many department stores also feature special New Year decorations and events to draw customers, creating an extra special and festive atmosphere.
Notes: Public transport runs on holiday timetables during the New Year's period.
Banks are closed Dec 31st - Jan. 3rd. |
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