Happy 2010!
New Year's Holiday is a very exciting time in Japan. For many days before the New Year, people across Japan spend their days cleaning. In the office, we took a day to clean out old files, rearrange our desks, and wash common areas. At home, I helped my family by cleaning all the high areas of the house – there are some advantages to being 6'2". It is also important to prepare certain dishes for the New Year; tradition is not to cook during the first 3 days of the New Year. Now, however, people give in and do so. In my host family, we enjoyed these traditional foods only for lunch (the same food for 3 days!). One of the most famous of these foods is mochi (sticky rice cake) soup. It is definitely a different kind of soup, and I have to say I prefer the regular miso... Each of the foods is supposed to symbolize something. For example, the lotus root (because of its shape) symbolizes looking into the future. There is also a kind of fish eggs that symbolizes having a big family. If it's true, my host brother is going to have at least 12 kids. He loves it!
Some of the Traditional Foods
One of the best things about New Year's was that I got to spend a lot of time with my host family. It was a relaxed time when people weren’t running off to different obligations. On New Year's Eve, we had a traditional dinner of Sukiyaki... followed later by a cream roll... followed later by soba... followed later by mandarin oranges. It was so much food! I was full after dinner, but somehow managed to eat everything. We also watched a Japanese music show that is a popular tradition for New Year's Eve. I surprised myself by how many of the famous acts I already knew (though I have to credit watching Music Station on Friday nights for helping me with that one). When the New Year finally arrived, it was a much more relaxed event than I was used to in the U.S. The family just said their greetings to each other, watched a bit more TV, and headed to bed.
The next morning, we enjoyed our lunch of traditional foods and headed out for the day. The first stop on our list was a shrine in Fukagawa near our house. I had been there before, but the scene was completely different. There were many booths with all the products and foods you see at Japanese festivals. The line for prayer was ridiculous. We waited for about a half an hour to get up to the front with about 60 people going in increments. Afterwards, we headed to one of my favorite shopping areas, LaLaPort, for some New Year's Day bargain shopping. I had been looking for a new pea coat for a couple of weeks, but hadn't been able to find one that I liked that was within my budget. New Year's was a great time to look though (if you can make your way through the chaos!). My host mother went with me to many different shops and I tried on many different coats. Luckily I was able to find one that was perfect at half price!
Day 2 was just as eventful. My host brother had to stay home to catch up on homework, but my host parents took me to see a bird's eye view of Tokyo. The original plan was to see it from the Tokyo Tower, but after seeing the lines, we decided against it. Instead, we headed to Roppongi Hills were you can see Tokyo from the 52nd story. It was almost better because you got great views of the Tokyo Tower as well. On Day 3, we had a lunch with my host mother's family (her parents and brother and his wife) at the ANA Intercontinental. We had a buffet that was amazing and the entire place was very chic. One of the best parts though was that the restaurant was on the 36th floor so we got another great view of the city.
The next morning, we enjoyed our lunch of traditional foods and headed out for the day. The first stop on our list was a shrine in Fukagawa near our house. I had been there before, but the scene was completely different. There were many booths with all the products and foods you see at Japanese festivals. The line for prayer was ridiculous. We waited for about a half an hour to get up to the front with about 60 people going in increments. Afterwards, we headed to one of my favorite shopping areas, LaLaPort, for some New Year's Day bargain shopping. I had been looking for a new pea coat for a couple of weeks, but hadn't been able to find one that I liked that was within my budget. New Year's was a great time to look though (if you can make your way through the chaos!). My host mother went with me to many different shops and I tried on many different coats. Luckily I was able to find one that was perfect at half price!
Day 2 was just as eventful. My host brother had to stay home to catch up on homework, but my host parents took me to see a bird's eye view of Tokyo. The original plan was to see it from the Tokyo Tower, but after seeing the lines, we decided against it. Instead, we headed to Roppongi Hills were you can see Tokyo from the 52nd story. It was almost better because you got great views of the Tokyo Tower as well. On Day 3, we had a lunch with my host mother's family (her parents and brother and his wife) at the ANA Intercontinental. We had a buffet that was amazing and the entire place was very chic. One of the best parts though was that the restaurant was on the 36th floor so we got another great view of the city.
Overall, the New Year Holiday was very exciting for me and I was a little sad when I had to return to work. It reminds me that I really have little time with my first host family left and I have to cherish the time I have with them.
Me with My Host Family on Day 3
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