Happy New Years

Happy new year everybody! Hope yours was good!

Here in Japan, the holidays take a bit of backwards take from those of us in the west. Christmas is known as the nationwide "date night" where couples go out for a fancy night on the town and New Years is a holiday meant to be spent with family and loved ones, visiting the temple or shrine, eating a family dinner and playing games.

Steaming the rice

I spent Christmas with some friends and spent New Years with my Japanese family. We had a mochizuki (pounded steamed rice till its a lovely sticky dough). I pounded and I made mochi. For some reason, even though I tell them that we have mochizuki in my hometown in the States, they are always impressed on my mochi making skillz. We continued the New Years celebration with a large meal that included sushi, sweetened black beans, crab, shrimp, my favorite veggies; renkon (lotous root), gobo (burdock root), carrots and fresh shitake mushrooms. We followed dinner under the kotatsu (heated table) watching a marathon of Johnnie's boys performances (think of Dick Clark's, its pretty similar) as we counted down to midnight. I took a brief nap before midnight though because at midnight we have to eat soba (the noodles are super long to symbolize having a long life) and then walk to the family temple/graveyard to ring a huge bell for the New Year (everyone does it, so theres a lot of ringing going on) then we went to another larger temple to pray for good luck this year.

Pounding the rice!

rolling an (sweet bean paste)

YUMMMmm! Fresh mochi!

The next morning we eat a special breakfast, osechi. using the fresh mochi from the day before like a dumpling, it is placed in  clear broth with some veggies and a little fish. It's very tasty. I ate it before the thought of taking a picture came to mind. Lunch/dinner is another array of sushi and seafoods like the night before and by the end of the day, you feel you've eaten so much you have to be rolled out the door!