There’s only one thing anybody wants to know right now…
Did you do anything for Golden Week?
I’ll concede there’s a small chance this topic is only relevant among people living in Japan and, if it’s coming up in English, it’s only a hot topic among 0.01 percent of the population. But hey, that’s my demographic!
UN Farmers Market and Cinco de Mayo
We started our Golden Week with a weekend trip into Tokyo to visit one of our favorite farmers markets and hit up the Cinco de Mayo Festival at Yoyogi Park.
The latest edition of “True Portland”—a high-quality Portland, Ore. guidebook written by Japanese authors in Japanese—was released recently. The authors had a pop-up tent at the UN Farmers Market featuring Portland products like Jacobsen Salt and Fuller Foods Serious Cheesy Puffs.Oregon Beer Geeks is a company in Japan that imports beer from Oregon and sells it online. At the UN Market, they had two beers from Burnside Brewing and one from The Commons Brewery, both based in Portland.Lunch at the UN Farmers Market—a vegetarian take on Hawaiian plate lunch, a hummus and veggie bagel pizza and Burnside Brewing’s “Too Sticky To Roll India Red Ale” and “Sweet Heat,” an apricot and Scotch bonnet pepper wheat beer.Tokyo’s take on Cinco de Mayo is a lot like America’s take—lots of drinking and sad Mexican-ish food. The best find was probably this Day of the Dead Porter from Mexico’s Cerveceria Mexicana brewery.
Chichibu’s Hitsujiyama Park
Chichibu is our favorite place for outdoor adventures in Japan. It’s about an hour away by train and is usually pretty quiet. However, during Golden Week, thousands of people descend on the otherwise sleepy town to see the shibazakura or mountain phlox at Hitsujiyama Park.
Video: Mountain Phlox in Chichibu
Phans of the phlox phlocking to Chichibu (see what I did there?)The phlox fields at Hitsujiyama Park in Chichibu (click to zoom)The heart of the phlox gardenMt. Buko sits in the distancePeople sitting around the edge of the garden having a picnic and, in many cases, a napTourists getting in the way of the view of the phlox 🙂Local Chichibu honey for sale at Hitsujiyama Park. A large queen bee is inside each jar.“Hitsuji” means “sheep” in Japanese and “yama” means “mountain,” so the aptly-named Sheep Mountain Park should have a few sheep wandering the grounds. The local paparazzi went crazy for this one.A window in a home near the park proudly displaying its winnings from the UFO Catcher gamesMt. Buko and a bright red neighborhood shrine. The scarring at the top of Mt. Buko is a result of heavy mining of limestone used for the ever-present construction in the larger cities.After a day of walking, we went to an onsen (hot springs) in the nearby Yokoze neighborhood. This is proof that I can use chopsticks like a champ!
Koburi Pass
We milked every last second out of Golden Week, heading out on the last day of the holidays to nearby Hanno for some hiking. We found a very non-touristy spot called Koburi Pass. We befriended a couple of older Japanese ladies at the train station, one of whom nearly missed the train when she went upstairs to get us some local sightseeing pamphlets.
Lots to see along the way, like this statue of Buddha playing a mandolinThese happy farm animals were painted outside a local butcher shopWalking up the road to the hiking trails leading to Koburi PassSeveral small shrines appear along the path, like this one of the Seven Gods of Fortune (七福神). Hikers leave coins at each shrine for good fortune.A view of the Okuchichibu Mountains as we approached the top of Koburi Pass. Mt. Fuji was barely visible due to the cloud cover, but it’s not at all visible in this photoLunch under the pagoda of Marishiten Temple. From the very top of the pass, we could look over the entirety of Saitama Prefecture. On a clear day, Tokyo Skytree is visible, nearly 50 miles away.Springtime in Japan in all of its glory. The wisteria trees in bloom.Viburnum plicatum is better known as the Japanese snowball.Mountain laurel is native to the eastern United States, but it found its way to JapanKoi swimming free in a stream near the train station
How did you spend Golden Week? Leave a comment below!
Japan celebrates Shōwa Day today, kicking off a series of holidays known as Golden Week. This year’s holiday comes with a healthy dose of controversy.
Shōwa Day marks the birthday of Shōwa-era emperor Hirohito, but less as a celebration and more as a time of reflection. It was during Hirohito’s reign that Japan invaded China, used toxic gas against its enemies and entered into a treaty with Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany leading up to World War II.
Abe, Abe and Obama: Prime Minister Abe (Ah-bay) with President Obama and at the Lincoln Memorial (AFP-JIJI)
2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Japan’s current Prime Minister Shinzō Abe is in the United States, preparing to speak in front of a joint session of Congress—the first Japanese leader to address Congress since the end of WWII.
Abe is under fire from Chinese and Korean leaders for his “revisionist” views of Japan’s role in the war, in particular the sexual enslavement of women in Japanese military brothels. Previous Japanese prime ministers have offered up apologies, but Abe’s stance has hardened relations with Japan’s neighbors.
Abe and wife Akie at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum with Holocaust survivors (AP)
Abe’s U.S. visit also comes with positives. In addition to new trade and defense agreements, Abe toured the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and used the opportunity to tell the story of Chiune Sugihara.
Chiune Sugihara has been called the “Japanese Schindler” for his role in saving thousands of Jews during the Holocaust
In 1939 and 1940, while Japan was aligning itself with Germany, Sugihara served as Japan’s Imperial Consul in Lithuania. During these years, he issued visas allowing more than 6,000 Jews fleeing the Nazi pogroms to travel to Japan.
He died in 1986, largely unknown in his own country, but a hero to many outside Japan. Prior to his death, he was honored with Israel’s Righteous Among the Nations honor, given to non-Jews who helped save refugees during the Holocaust. He has streets named for him in both Lithuania and Israel and asteroid 25893 Sugihara was named in his honor.
It’s been awhile since we’ve had a good Japanese mystery to investigate. A couple weeks ago, workers began installing long white boards all over town with squares numbered 1-50. A large date—April 26—appeared at one end with a whole lot of indecipherable Japanese surrounding it.
The election poster board, called kouei keji ba (公営掲示場) or public posting area
A few days later, nearly all of the boxes were plastered with election posters from all of Japan’s major political parties. It’s time to elect our local mayors (kuchō/区長) and assembly representatives (kugikai/区議会)! I say “our,” but as foreign citizens, we don’t get a vote. At least we have plausible deniability if it all goes south… “Not my kuchō!”
In addition to the posters, candidates ride around in vans with loudspeakers, sharing their message with the people. They wear white gloves as they wave out the window, apparently a symbol of honesty.
The posters themselves were pretty standard fare, although I did notice a couple of trends. First off, several candidates seemed to be taking the theme of “fighting for you” literally. I counted six posters with candidates raising clinched fists, ready to punch the opposition right in the face. Some of my favorites…
This guy will not only fight for us, but might also organize a pickup basketball game!
The next candidate had comic-style posters of him fighting for the people of Kawagoe on his website during the election. Kinda cool.
Manabu-san looks way too happy for someone who has spent 25 years working in Kawagoe City Hall (25年間川越市役所勤務の経験を市政に生かします！).Misao-san took a slightly different route with the “Who has one finger and wants your vote? This guy!” themeOdaka-san has a bit of a “Um, I’ll fight for you?” look about him, but as a local fire chief, and PTA president, he’s got the goods.
The other prominent theme is the use of cartoonish representations of the candidates. It says “Look, I’m fun!” Some of the best…
Maki-san is bring “a new wind to Kawagoe” (川越市政に「新しい風」を)Tetsuya-san is a “53-year-old working in full bloom” (働きざかりの５３歳)Kirino-san has doubled-down with the fist-pumping cartoonI’d say this is actually a fairly good likeness of Yamaki-sanMizuyo-san loves Kawagoe and apparently loves to bicycle as wellSekiguchi-san looks a lot happier in his caricature than in his actual picture
For two magical weeks, spring boldly announces its presence all over Japan in the form of sakura—the blossoms of the Japanese cherry tree. Families and friends come together for viewing parties and everyone has a bit more pep in their step. Then, as quickly as they arrived, they begin to fall like snow, replaced by green buds and the promise of warmer days. Enjoy the view!
Part of the large cherry tree grove at Kawagoe Aquatic ParkOur own private hanami (cherry blossom viewing) at Kawagoe Park included homemade vegan sausagesSakura-inspired beverages come and go as quickly as the blossoms themselves. Pictured are two sakura-flavored beers and a sakura-flavored rosé wine.This fancy cat dressed up in her best pearls for the Nakameguro Sakura Festival in TokyoTri-colored “sakura” dango—mochi balls on a stick—at Tokyo’s Nakameguro Sakura FestivalThe sun sets behind the sakura in Kawagoe Aquatic ParkLanterns and blossoms at the Nakameguro Sakura Festival in TokyoWatch the video in full-screen mode to get the full sakura experience
Over the course of a month of traveling, you’ll end up using a lot of different types of transportation. Obviously, there’s a bunch of taxis and buses, but southern Asians use a variety of different transportation methods as part of their daily lives. Here’s a sampling of how we got around India, Nepal and Thailand.
Clockwise from left: Waiting for the metro train in Kawagoe; The Delhi Metro; Bangkok Metro (MRT)We had five flights on our trip: Tokyo to Delhi, Kathmandu to Bangkok, Bangkok to Koh Samui, Nakhon Si Thammarat to Bangkok and Bangkok to TokyoWe took a pink taxi in Bangkok similar to this one (Photo by Ilya Plekhanov, Wikipedia Commons)Tuk-Tuks or auto-rickshaws are a common way to get around in southern Asia. We used them frequently in India and Thailand.Business class seating in a passenger train from Agra to Jhansi in India. Pretty comfy and clean.Only electric vehicles are allowed near Taj Mahal as the pollution was beginning to turn Taj’s marble yellow. We rode a cart similar to this one to the gates (Photo from jotarofootsteps.blogspot.com)In India and Nepal, our tour group used private buses and vans to move shorter distances. Usually our luggage was tied to the top and usually someone climbed on top of the van to get it down.Inside the horror show that was the sleeper train from Orchha to Allahabad in India. A group of men argued loudly all night in the bunk across from us. (Hey Farren!)On the Ganges River in Allahabad, we drifted in sailboats to a remote beach where we camped and played cricket.In Varanasi, India, we used motor boats to watch the sunrise opposite the city’s famous ghats.Riding a bicycle rickshaw in the streets of Varanasi, India. We felt bad having another human being peddle us around, but it was better than having to walk back to our hotel.We rode a bus to the India/Nepal border, then crossed the border on foot before boarding another bus to our hotel in Lumbini, NepalIn the Narayani Zone in Nepal, we toured the local village on bicycles. We both got a “Hero Queen” bike.Our group loaded into two canoes and paddled our way to Chitwan National Park in NepalIn Chitwan National Park in Nepal, we saw one-horned rhinoceros and crocodiles from our safari jeepIn Koh Samui, we rented a scooter for the day and poked around the east side of the island. Later, in Nakhon Si Thammarat, we rode on the back of scooter-taxis to our songthaew to Kiriwong Village.To reach Thailand’s Angthong National Marine Park, you have to catch a ride with a tour boat. We camped on Angthong’s main island for a couple nights and returned with another boat.Both days we were on Angthong, we rented a kayak and paddled out into the Gulf of ThailandLong-tail boats are widely used in Thailand by fishermen and tour companiesWe finally pried ourselves off of Koh Samui and took a large ferry boat to the mainland. Dozens of cars sat below deck. Above deck, comfy seats, televisions, massage services and a convenience store were available for passengers.Songthaew‘s are one of Thailand’s primary public transportation methods. The modified pickup trucks stop along fixed routes and have padded benches in the covered truck bed. People hop on and off along the route. Twice we rode in the back of a pickup truck. In Kiriwong Village, Thailand, a Thai from Krabi helped us set up our homestay lodging and gave us a ride to the house.In Nakhon Si Thammarat, a woman named Joon helped us make change for our songthaew fare, then went out of her way to give us a ride to our hotel in the back of her pickup truck. Her mother was driving and stopped for a snack along the way while her two daughters enjoyed their 7-11 Slurpees.In Kiriwong Village, we hired a local guide to take us hiking to the waterfalls in Khao Luang National Park. He picked us up on his motorcycle. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see my wife again when I snapped this picture! 🙂In the old part of Bangkok, water taxis run up and down the Chao Phraya River, dropping passengers at the big tourist spots. They’re crowded and the boat attendants do a lot of yelling and pushing.
What’s the craziest method of transportation you’ve ever taken in your travels? Leave a comment below!
As of last weekend, I’m officially in the middle of my late 30s. And where better to spend a birthday that in one of the greatest cities on the planet. We spent the entire weekend in Tokyo with no real agenda, which ended up being an action-packed three days.
Instead of a long rundown of events, please enjoy some photos from the weekend.
An unexpected dinner with our Airbnb hosts Yusuke and Hiroki at Rokumonsen, a monjayaki (or monja as it’s commonly called) place in Asakusa.Yusuke (one of our Airbnb hosts) scrapes the monja off the griddle. The mixture of cabbage, cheese, mochi and sauce cooks to the griddle and is basically a gooey top with a crispy bottom.A rarity: nobody in front of Kaminarimon Gate at Senso-ji Temple in AsakusaAkihabara Electric Town. These blocks are filled with video arcades, electronic shops and maid cafes. A little something for everyone.My birthday lunch! Vegan buffet at Loving Hut in Chiyoda. This was plate one of three or four… the food coma set in at some point.The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame Museum at Tokyo Dome. This was one of my favorite things we’ve done recently and will warrant its own post in the near future.Tokyo Skytree and the Asahi Beer Hall flame sculpture from the Asakusa side of the Sumida River. The locals call the Asahi sculpture “kin no unko” (金のうんこ) or “the golden turd.” Our host didn’t know the English translation and I’ll never un-see his pantomime that clearly translated said meaning.The view from the front of our home away from home. Not too shabby.Birthday drinks on the 13th floor of a restaurant overlooking Asakusa.The main hall and pagoda of Senso-ji Temple as seen from a nearby restaurant.
This playground near Tokyo Skytree had an awesome metal-roller propelled slide. We only saw adults use it in the short time we were there. Video below.
A shark swimming in the tank at Sumida Aquarium in Tokyo Skytown. The window of the tank doubled as a projection screen for a flyover movie of the city.Sumida Aquarium had a great penguin exhibit.Penguins swimming in the tank at Sumida AquariumThe first exhibits at Sumida Aquarium are jellyfish illuminated by changing colors. It was truly impressive.Sumida Aquarium did its best to recreate native environments for the different species of sea life in its keep.Looking up from the near the base of Tokyo Skytree, which at 634 meters is the tallest structure in Japan, the tallest tower in the world and the second-tallest structure in the world behind Dubai’s Burj Khalifa Tower.
Yokohama was high on my list of places I wanted to visit while in Japan. I really knew nothing about it and the desire was probably due to it being home to the Yokohama Baystars baseball team, Japan’s equivalent to the Chicago Cubs (think “lovable losers”).
Last weekend, we popped down to Yokohama for the day. Located a short train ride south of Tokyo, it’s actually the most populated municipality in Japan and second most populated city after Tokyo. Due to its development as a port town in the 1800s, Yokohama is a melting pot of Pacific cultures.
The main floor of the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum
Our first stop was the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, billed as the world’s first food-themed amusement park. On the two lower levels, a 1950s-era Japanese street scene has been replicated in authentic detail with signage, music and a variety of ramen shops. A less-era-authentic magician performed tricks for the large crowd while blasting modern electronic music from his iPhone.
The standard ordering vending machine, still in use in many shops today; Vegetarian ramen at NARUMI-IPPUDO; The requirement: Everyone has to order at least one bowl of ramen on the honor system.
The wait times for each shop are on a chalkboard by the main stairs. We arrived around noon and already some of the shops had 30 minute waits. Waiting that long for ramen in Japan seems a little silly since there are literally 20,000 shops in Tokyo with no wait, but it’s a little like waiting in line at Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland. The wait is part of the experience.
We picked NARUMI-IPPUDO, a French bouillon/Japanese dashi hybrid for our first course. The mini-sized bowls with medium-sized noodles and light broth were the perfect appetizer. In response to the variety of tourists who come through the museum’s doors, most of the shops offer at least one vegetarian bowl and one halal option for the increasing number of Muslim visitors. Guilt-free ramen is the best ramen of all!
The delicious spicy miso ramen at Ryu Shanghai
Lunch #2 involved one of the aforementioned 30 minute waits. Ryu Shanghai offered a unique spicy ramen with thick noodles in a rich, flavorful soup. The added dollop of the spicy miso sauce on top was enough to open up the sinuses on a cold day.
Kamome Shokudo was one shop caught my attention in the brochure. The original shop washed away in the 2011 earthquake and tsumani that decimated northeastern Japan. The shop has been replicated in the museum, giving their Sendai-style ramen a second life.
A 1950s-era television broadcasts old puro resu (professional wrestling) matches
Era-correct props dotted the museum’s basement floors. A payphone booth was made even more authentic by the black electrical tape holding the cord to the handset. An old black and white television console showed 1950s professional wrestling matches (side note: the sport’s popularity in the 1950s used to draw large crowds to watch the matches on big screens in Tokyo). A stained vending machine rolled out small glass bottles of Coca Cola. Plenty to see while waiting in those long ramen lines.
Next, we headed south toward Tokyo Bay. Every once in awhile, we get those “doesn’t feel like Japan” moments. The area around Tokyo Bay certainly qualified as one of those times. The massive Landmark Tower, Japan’s second largest building, anchors the skyline and casts a large shadow over the Nippon Maru, a clipper-style boat-turned-museum that was used as a training vessel for the Japanese Merchant Marines from the 1930s to the 1980s.
Looking toward the bay, you can’t miss the Cosmo Clock 21, the centerpiece of the Minato Mirai 21 (MM21) shopping center. Built in 1989, it was the world’s tallest ferris wheel for nearly a decade and, thanks to the digital clock on its face, it still stands as the world’s largest timepiece.
The Red Brick Warehouse served as a customs building in the early 20th century, but now hosts shops, restaurants and cultural facilities
From MM21, we followed Kishamichi Promenade along the bayfront. It felt more like the Cairns Esplanade in Australia than anything we’ve seen in Japan. A running event was taking place on the day we visited, so we shuffled alongside those athletes braving the cold weather along the bayfront, ending up at the Red Brick Warehouse. The event overtook the grounds of the former customs warehouse, which was restored in the early 1990s and is now (of course) a retail center.
The gates to Yokohama’s Chinatown district
From there, we ventured inland toward Yokohama’s thriving Chinatown district. Thousands of Chinese immigrants arrived at the port in the 1800s, bringing with them food (including ramen) and customs that still thrive in Japan today. More than 250 shops are fit into several city blocks, making it one of the world’s largest “Chinatown” districts.
Guan Di Miao is one of the most important Chinese temples in Yokohama
Two ornate and impressive temples appear between the pork bun shops in Chinatown. Guan Di Miao was founded in the 1860s by immigrants as a central spiritual site as well as a tribute to Guan Gong, a well-respected general during the Han Dynasty in around 220 B.C.
The Mazu Miao temple is the newest temple in Chinatown
The second temple rivals all of the great structures we’ve seen in Japan, yet was built less than a decade ago, officially opening in March 2006. The city had planned on building a large apartment complex on the site, but the community was concerned about the impact such a building would have on the area. They negotiated with the developers and eventually purchased the land, building Mazu Miao in its place.
The streets of Yokohama’s Chinatown
Less than two hours by train, Yokohama deserves another day trip in the near future. Would love to hear from anyone who’s visited about what we missed the first time around.
Working with young people, I have a chance to hear about some of the “exciting” first rites of passage into adulthood. Students getting their driver’s licenses or first jobs. First forays into drinking, smoking, sex. Forming opinions. Rebellion. Normal teen stuff.
Each culture has its own definitions of the not-so-fine line between childhood and adulthood. But, in the U.S., there’s no official ceremony surrounding it. The closest thing we have is perhaps a “Sweet Sixteen” or the 18th birthday. Latino cultures have the “Quinceañera” for young women at 15 years of age. In Japan, there is a public holiday on the second Monday of January, which is deemed “Coming of Age Day” (Seijin no hi).
In Japan, the legal age of adulthood is 20—for voting, drinking and smoking. For about a year, I’ve been hearing about the preparations for this day from some of our sophomore students at the university. And finally, it was here. My Facebook feed was suddenly flooded with loads of young women in beautiful kimonos and ornate hairstyles.
Japan really is a curious mix of the old and the new. To see young women transformed from their jeans and t-shirts to feminine visions from a past era was fascinating.
I asked a few students to share the significance of this day. Maybe it’s similar to asking an 18-year-old in the states why all of a sudden they can now vote, join the military or get a tattoo. “It’s a tradition,” they say. “We’re now considered adults based on our age.”
The Coming of Age ceremony usually takes place the weekend before or around the official public holiday. Young people who turned 20 after April 2 of the previous year or 19-year-olds who will turn 20 before April 1 of the current year take part in the ceremony. Students traveled across Japan to go home for this occasion.
Akie presents a close up of her ornate hair and ‘furisode’ kimono.
Women usually go to a shop about a year in advance to be fitted for their “furisode” kimono with all of its intricacies. It’s similar to how women choose a wedding gown. It’s a chance to put your stamp of creativity and stand out in the sea of beauties. The family plays a large role and it’s not a cheap endeavor with kimonos costing in the thousands of dollars (many borrow or rent). Young women wake up early—about 6 a.m.—and go to a special salon that does hair and makeup. There is also someone who helps with fitting the furisode.
At around noon, students join their former junior high school classmates in a public hall for the ceremony. From what I understand, there are many speeches and formalities. Most of the men wear suits and a few wear the men’s version of the kimono, which is called a hakama.
Masaaki posing in his eye-catching hakama.
I taught Masaaki when he studied abroad in Oregon (he has now returned to Japan). His appearance stood out to me as he was one of the few who chose to rent a hakama for this day. He said three people had to help him dress in the kimono. “After I wore the kimono, I ate special lunch with my relatives gathered,” Masaaki said.
And after the ceremony? Students have a reunion with their classmates. And, then the parties! And rowdiness! “I had second and third parties. I enjoyed until next morning ‘cause we were legally able to drink alcohol!” Masaaki said.
Shuta (back row, third from left) and his friends celebrate becoming adults.
Shuta is a student at the university. He just turned 20 in October and he traveled two hours by plane to get to his hometown of Isahaya in Nagasaki Prefecture. He wore a suit for his ceremony and he said he didn’t have enough time to rent a kimono. In October, when some of the other students surprised him for his birthday in our class, he said a few words about the significance of 20 and how he must be a man now and take schoolwork and his future seriously.
But when I ask some of my students if they feel like an adult now that they have gone through the ceremony, most of them say not really. Are they ready to vote and form opinions and explore all of the fun and not-so-fun rites of adulthood? Maybe not. And that’s OK. There’s no hurry to grow up.
Saki (left) traveled to her hometown of Kitamoto for the ceremony and class reunion. She turned 20 in November 2014.
The first week of the New Year is all about starting anew. There’s something about the changing of the calendar that invites retrospection of the year gone by and the setting of goals for the coming year.
Most of Japan is closed during the days surrounding New Year’s Day, giving people the opportunity to focus on starting the year right. In Kawagoe, that means heading out to Kita-in Temple’s Daruma Festival, held annually on January 3.
The red Daruma is for luck and good fortune. The white Daruma brings love and harmony.
Daruma are round-ish dolls with bushy-featured faces and are believed to have inspired Russia’s iconic matryoshka dolls. Daruma dolls are about goal-setting for the coming year. They come in a variety of sizes and colors, each with a different meaning. They’re slightly weighted in the bottom so, if they’re tipped, they’ll always remain in an upright position like a Weeble. The feature is a metaphor for resiliency as Daruma are often associated with the phrase “nanakorobi yaoki (七転び八起き),” meaning “fall seven times and stand up eight.”
The Daruma’s eyes are both blank. Once you’ve decided on your goal for the year, you color in one of the eyes. If you accomplish your goal, you color in the other eye. If you don’t achieve your goal, well… I guess you have a Popeye Daruma.
Kabura-ya and Daruma from 2014 pile up at Kita-in, waiting to be burned
At the beginning of the New Year, people bring last year’s Daruma and other charms (decorative arrows called kabura-ya (鏑矢) are another common New Year charm) back to the temple or shrine to be ceremonially burned. Mountains of 2014 charms piled near Kita-in’s main temple.
One of many vendors selling Daruma for the New Year
Vendors lined the paths of the temple grounds with new Daruma and charms for sale. If you want general good fortune, buy a red one. Want to focus on love and happiness? Get a white one. Even corporations get in the act, buying larger Daruma equal to the audacity of the goal.
Piping hot okonomiyaki with a fried egg and butter potato covered in kimchi
It wouldn’t be a Japanese festival without Japanese festival food and the Daruma Festival had plenty. Hockey puck-shaped pancakes filled with cream or sweet bean, called imagawayaki (今川焼き), are a popular sweet treat. Hot, steamed potatoes with butter, mayonnaise and kimchi are another mainstay at the local festivals. We managed to catch the okonomiyaki guy just before he sprinkled on the fish flakes, making for a filling lunch.
The new mural celebrating the Year of the Sheep at Kawagoe Hachimangu Shrine
Walking through town, many of the shrines were still packed with visitors paying their first respects of the year. One of our favorite little shrines, Kawagoe Hachimangu, featured a brand-new mural celebrating the year of the sheep.
Hanging out with Akinari at Koma Shrine in Hidaka
A couple days later, we visited Koma Shrine in nearby Hidaka. One of Viktoria’s students, Akinari, is a local and volunteers at the shrine during the holidays. He had ample opportunity to practice his English with us as we peppered him with questions about the traditions and meanings of different things.
Waiting to approach Koma Shrine for prayers
He patiently walked us through the ceremonial hand washing process (temizu/手水) before paying respect at the shrine (toss a coin in the bin in front of the shrine, bow twice, clap twice, make your prayer then bow once).
Tying my omikuji to the tree; Viktoria is “Quite Lucky” while I am just “Slightly Lucky”
We bought our fortunes (omikuji/おみくじ) for the year, which Koma Shrine kindly offered in English and Korean in addition to Japanese. Mine was only “Slightly Lucky,” so I tied it to the tree branch with all the others in hopes that the slight luck would attach to the tree instead of me.
Omamori charms. These particular charms provide protection during travel.
Akinari’s job at the shrine is selling omamori (御守), charms that provide blessings and luck for the holder. Viktoria and Akinari each bought a ryokō anzen omamori (旅行安全御守) or a travel safety amulet to protect us on our various adventures abroad in 2015.
The search for the world’s greatest Imagawayaki continues at Koma Shrine
Akinari also gave us the low-down on some of the festival foods that we always wondered about. Hidaka’s past is intertwined with Japan’s complicated relationship with Korea and, as a result, has a lot of Korean influences. He explained toppoki (tteokbokki in Korean), which is mochi, tofu and eggs in a spicy sauce. We’d seen it before, but the mochi look like little sausages, so we always avoided it. It was delicious! We also continued our search for the best imagawayaki. This one may be the leader in the clubhouse!
Afterwards, he took us to nearby Kinchakuda-Manjushage Park, close to one of our favorite restaurants (Alishan Cafe). The park is famous for its red spider lilies, which bloom by the millions in the fall, flooding the rice field in a sea of red. Goats and horses at a farm opposite the park were apt as we closed out the Year of the Horse and rang in the Year of the Sheep (goats… sheep… close enough!).
Out with the Year of the Horse and in with the Year of the Sheep… kinda… at Kinchakuda-Manjushage Park in Hidaka
Getting the local experience was really valuable and we couldn’t be more appreciative of Akinari giving up a Sunday night to show us around. It’s a great memory of our first New Year in Japan.
Robert and I love traditions. And we go all out. Instead of focusing on Christmas activities this year, we set our sights on Japanese New Year traditions. We were in luck because Japan is steeped in traditions and we were on a mission to try them all. Here is our journey into 2015, Year of the Sheep!
Decorations
Sometime in early December, we started noticing that our local grocery stores started to put up these odd displays. What do round plastic disks, mandarin oranges, bamboo, straw, rope and pine branches have in common? They are parts of a shrine or decoration that is put out in the home to honor the gods. First, the “kagami-mochi” is two round rice cakes, usually with a real or plastic mandarin orange on top. This is part of a shrine placed inside the home. I asked a student if you’re supposed to eat these rice cakes and I guess the answer is no!
Clockwise from left: Large kadomatsu by Tokyo International University; Shimekazari wreaths; Kagami-mochi with sheep
Next, “kadomatsu” is made of three, large bamboo sticks and pine branches and are put in the front of the house. These are to house the spirit until January 7; after which they are burned to release the spirit. Last, the “shimekazari” is a straw and rope decoration that is hung on the door to protect from evil spirits.
We did not put up any of these in our home, but it was fun to walk around our neighborhood and notice the varying ways our neighbors practiced this tradition.
Postcards
We also started noticing that while there were some Christmas card displays, they were largely outnumbered by stacks of postcards with 2015 and its Chinese zodiac sign, the sheep. “Nengajo” are cards you send to loved ones wishing them Happy New Year. We decided to send a handful to relatives and those who sent us a Christmas card. The Japanese Post works overtime to ensure that the cards are delivered on January 1.
Clockwise from upper-left: Our nengajo; tempura and sushi stamps; a selection of nengajo at the local store; our local mailman hard at work
The postcards have lottery numbers on them. The winners are announced in mid-January and include prizes like washers, dryers and TV sets. Maybe a Cascadian Abroad reader will be a winner?
New Year’s Eve Variety Show
New Year’s Eve (NYE) is called “omisoka,” which means the last day of the month. We started our NYE by watching a famous talent show, “Kōhaku Uta Gassen,” on a public broadcasting channel called NHK. It’s a great honor for entertainers to be invited to perform on this show. It’s similar to Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, or whatever the current iteration is.
The 65th Kohaku Uta Gassen on NHK
I thought the show was really entertaining. It’s a Who’s Who of Japanese actors and musicians. We spotted our favorite soap opera (the show is called “Massan”) actor, who happens to be an American. We saw some mascots like Funassyi and Jinbanyan (orange and white cat). We tried to avoid getting the Japanese version of “Let It Go” stuck in our head.
Soba Noodles
New Year’s soba and vegetable tempura in Kawagoe
After watching a little TV, we headed out to Kawagoe in search of a meal. “Toshikoshi soba” is a traditional meal eaten around midnight to ward off evil spirits before the New Year. We found a lovely restaurant that made its own buckwheat noodles near the shrine we were planning to visit. I’ve heard that sometimes the soba is one long noodle and sometimes it is in smaller pieces. We were given a little pot filled with the water the soba was cooked in to drink at the end of the meal. And hot tea and sake to warm up. Delicious! Oiishi!
First Temple Visit
“Hatsumode” is the year’s first visit to the shrine/temple. We thought about going to Tokyo, which has many large, famous shrines and temples. But with Tokyo NYE crowds projected in the millions, we thought it would be better to see what locals were up to!
Clockwise from left: Us at Kita-in; Daruma dolls for sale; nearby Senba Tōshō-gū Shrine
We walked to two local shrines, Naritasan Kawagoebetsuin and Kita-in, alternating our time between both. We stood in line at the former to ring the bell at midnight. The latter was bigger and had many festival food and vendors of good luck charms and “Daruma” dolls.
After midnight, the crowds started to multiply and line up to say the first prayer of the year.
Ringing the Bell
“Joya no Kane” are purification bells. If one listens to or rings the bell 108 times, evil desires may be destroyed. It can’t hurt, right? Shortly, before midnight we climbed the bell tower and each rung the bell. It was definitely one of my favorite experiences in Japan so far. We were the only white people and, while I was nervous that we would be thrown out as nonbelievers, no one seemed perturbed by us participating in their religious traditions.
A joint effort to ring in 2015 at Naka-in Temple. Photo credit to Minnesotan Lindsay.
Before midnight, we heard a group count down “shi, san, ni, ichi” (four, three, two, one) and a few “Happy New Year” exclamations in English. The main temple bells started to ring. It was a subdued, but happy reaction.
We ran into friends at another temple later in the morning and rang the bell again with them. Doubling the purification of our evil thoughts, perhaps?
Money Envelopes
It’s a custom to give children money as a present for the New Year, called “otoshidama.” Similar to the Chinese custom you may have heard of, children are given money in a small envelope that can be red or decorated with designs appealing to children.
I asked some of my college-aged students whether they would still receive money and the answer was a resounding, YES! As long as a “child” is enrolled in college, they still receive money from parents and relatives. Popular amounts for children range from about $10 to $50 and for teenagers, upwards to $100.
We have a handful of small children living in our apartment complex so we decided to give “otoshidama” a try. No harm in fostering good will with neighbors, right? We presented the children with their envelopes (our name is written on the back so they know who it is from). I think our neighbors were shocked and embarrassed, which is a normal reaction to anything we do.
Lucky Grab Bags
Fukubukuro from the bakery of the local grocery store
Otoshidama money can be saved for serious ventures or spent in stores promising New Year’s deals and grab bags called “fukubukuro.” Shopping is a popular Japanese hobby so we weren’t surprised by this tradition. And anything to jump start the economy, right? We decided to “grab” this bag in our local bakery filled with a cute blanket, a huge loaf of bread and some sweet breads. It was about $9.
Mochi Rice Cakes
“Zōni” is a traditional soup eaten for the New Year that has blocks of “mochi” rice cakes floating in it. We purchased a huge bag of mochi, which are small square blocks of rice flour. They are as hard as a brick and look like soap. We noticed long ago that our toaster oven has a mochi setting so in they went. You wouldn’t think so, but after a few minutes, they emerge as melty, chewy little cakes. They can also be cooked over a grill.
Mochi grilling in the middle of the festivities at Kita-in
These rice cakes are so popular in the New Year festivities that sometimes people choke on them. Every year, a warning is issued, especially to the elderly. Chew your mochi carefully, y’all. There’s nothing really to compare mochi to in the states. It’s like a gooey, melty block of carbs. Yum!
Oh, how fun. Thanks for a great New Year, Japan.
Cascadian Abroad :45—Omisoka
Watch the video below for footage from the NHK New Year’s special and the ringing of the bells at Naritasan Kawagoebetsuin.
