Oshogatsu, or New Year, is the most important holiday in Japan. Businesses shut down from January 1 to January 3, and families gather to spend time together. During the New...[ Click to read more ]
The turn of the year is holiday time in Japan. People are off work to celebrate the New Year with parties, family gatherings, culinary feasts, and hatsumode. Hatsumode is the...[ Click to read more ]
New Years in Japan is laser-focused on firsts. You have your first sunrise of the year, which is very important, and other firsts like the Shinenkai parties to bring in...[ Click to read more ]
There are two main traditions marking the beginning of the new year in Hiroshima. Hatsumōde is the first visit of the year to a shrine and takes place throughout Japan....[ Click to read more ]
When I first heard about mochi, my heart went out to Japan's children. You see, where I'm from, sweets really are just that: sweet. And so, when I was told...[ Click to read more ]
Japan only started celebrating the New Year on January 1st, 1873, when the country adopted the Gregorian calendar of the West. Traditionally, the Japanese New Year was the same as...[ Click to read more ]
New Year is an important time in Japan, but things are celebrated differently here than back home. You are undoubtedly already clued up on Japan's New Year traditions, its New...[ Click to read more ]
Osechi-ryōri are traditional Japanese foods eaten at the start of the new year. The osechi tradition has been alive in Japan since the Heian Era (starting in 794). The foods...[ Click to read more ]
New Year is the main holiday of the year in Japan, and the country shuts down for several days as people take time off to spend time with their families...[ Click to read more ]
In Japan, celebrating New Year is all about 'firsts.' Perhaps the most important 'first' is the first trip to a shrine, a tradition called hatsumode. While this visit can happen...[ Click to read more ]