Skip to main content

Danielle- Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!


Happy New Year, everyone! And in Japanese, "akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!" :D

Considering the Japanese New Year is a lot different than what I'm used to in the US, this January 1st has been an educational one. I think I'll make this blog post "Japanese New Year food vocabulary", because of all the new words I've been learning/food I've been eating. :D

Here are some of the things we ate for osechi (Japanese New Year feast):
  • Namasu (dish of raw fish and vegetables seasoned in vinegar)
  • Kamaboko (fish paste)
  • Tazukuri (candied sardines)
  • Ebi (shrimp)
  • Ozouni (Japanese soup with mochi, different recipe depending on the family)
  • Kuromame (black soy beans)
  • Uirou (sweet made from rice-powder)
  • Monaka (wafer cake filled with bean jam)

*takes breath*
  • Ochazuke (hot green tea poured over rice, we ate it with salty fish toppings)
  • Gyoza (dumplings stuffed with minced pork and vegetables, shipped from Osaka!!)
  • Mikan (oranges that we ate at our little table in front of the TV)
  • Yakimochi (fried mochi) sandwiched between nori (seaweed)


Whew! I tried everything on my plate, and most assuredly, it was ALL good! :9

Also, all the food has meaning. For instance, if you eat fish eggs, it means your family will be strong and continue on for generations. Shiitake mushrooms are cut with a turtle-shell pattern that represents longevity. And I ate some thin soba noodles, which means that - because they are thin and easily cut (they fall apart in your mouth sooo yummy) - my bad things will be cut away to make room for new, good things that the new year has in store for me. Cool, right?

New Years Eve, me and my host family sat down and watched some TV. They had a sort of song contest special on for the New Years, so that was neat to see. Some of the popular artists that played were Perfume, T.M.Revolution, Arashi, and AKB48.

Right before the final countdown, though, the show cut to a temple in Asakusa and became silent. Temple bells rang, and at the top of the screen, flashed 00:00. Me and my host family shared our, "Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu"s, and went to bed. Unlike my usual American "3... 2... 1... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!" craziness, the Japanese countdown was very silent and very solemn, I think. It was a nice, quiet night.

The next day, me, my host mama, and host brother went to visit our local shrine for hatsumoude (first shrine visit of the year) to say hello to the Gods (kamisama).


Here's how it's done:

Throw a few coins into the offering box, ring the bell twice, bow twice, clap twice, make a News Years wish, bow again, and then continue with your New Years Day.

Oh, and on our way to the shrine, I experienced my first hatsuyuki (first snowfall) in Japan! It was actually SNOWING!! :D I was so excited!

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Daniel- こにちわ！！

こにちわ！！　(Daniel) Hello,こにちわ, bonjour,  Привет ! My name is Daniel Panasenko, and I am the 2012-2013 LEX intern in the Hippo office in Tokyo. I am from Sacramento, California, although originally from Dnipropetrovs'k, Ukraine.  I first came across LEX and Hippo when I came to Japan with People to People in 2009. I was hosted by members of the Hippo Family Club for four days, and I enjoyed the experience so much, that I came back to work for Hippo as an intern. Although I am fairly new to Hippo, I have been received warmly and welcomed into the Hippo family. Everyone at the office and at the family clubs are very kind, supportive, and incredibly patient as I unintentionally butcher their language. As the year progresses, I will blog about my experiences in Japan as well as my insights into the language and culture. Although I am a bit overwhelmed by the novelty of the lifestyle and language, but I am more than happy to be here, making fascinating new discoveri...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dannielle- Setsubun

Setsubun In February, there is a holiday in Japan called Setsubun. In celebration of the special day, I ventured out to Nagatacho (close to my work here in Shibuya) and visited the Hie Temple. It was so beautiful and peaceful up on a small hill, and oddly placed among the city life of Tokyo. It was crowded with people (but not too crowded, hence why I chose Nagatacho over Asakusa) standing in front of the temple "stage", within which we could hear some music and see some people inside dancing and preparing for the event. Because I got there earlier, I had to wait a bit, and so I talked with the older couple that stood next to me. Turns out, the husband and wife had been to the US before and lived in New Orleans about 10 years ago, so we eased into some great conversation. Very sweet people. When the event started, I witnessed a person dressed as an oni (demon) emerging from inside the temple, being drawn out by the priests who threw beans at him and shou...
Post a Comment
Read more

Danielle- Shopping Malls

Shopping Malls I noticed I don't talk about shopping enough, so here's a brief overlook of some of my favorite shopping malls (so far~) out here in Japan. AEON I have one about 5 minutes away from my local train station here in Chiba. It feels very homey to me, just because it's really spacious and open and reminds me of a shopping mall I had back in Illinois. What I love about Aeon, too, is that it has a bunch of different stores (other than just clothes). On the first floor, you have your groceries, bakery, and cosmetics, and stuff like that. On the other floors, you have your clothes, electronics, food court (talk about majorly nostalgic, especially with the KFCs and Subways), and mini arcade. Chiba is kind of out-of-the-way, and so Aeon has been a very convenient place for me to buy my toiletries and CalorieMate... and just walk around, if I feel like it. I bought my first winter coat there and some gloves, and it was all reasonably priced, I think (granted,...
Post a Comment
Read more