In the morning everyone was greeted with amazing fruit muffins made by a fellow housemate for new years! What a wonderfully delicious surprise!In Japan New Years is celebrated with family, everyone has a week off and is able to head home and spend these precious days with loved ones.
On New Years Eve they eat soba and watch a television program. At around midnight or early in the morning they go to the shrine and pray. Which is what Asia and I did after celebrating our count down on the streets of Tokyo.
It actually seemed very fitting to wandering around not knowing really what the plan was. Due to the previous night of too much End of Year Party (Bonenkai) drinking I wasn't planning to drink again for a long time. So far so good. :P
The first shrine that we visited had a huge line up so we vetoed it and hoped to find another place. Which we did on our way to Shinjuku, it didn't have a line up at all. Our thoughts were try to find a small shrine and not worry about trying to hit up a big one where we would have to inch forward with a lot of other people. mind you crowded spaces would have equaled more warmth, who needs that when you have a Monster in hand.The evening before we made Osechi a bento box that has season ingredients and certain foods for bringing in the new year. I heard that it was made for new years because everyone is home all the shops are closed and this is the big meal that they eat on new years day with the family. Also Ozoni and Omochi!
New years was a quiet one this year but I had a great time. Happy 2014!!
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