Probably there are different ways to spend the New Year’s holidays depending on the cultural background of every country and also on the customs and traditions in your own family. In Japan there is also a long list of cultural things to do during this important event. Here is a guide to how Japanese people…

2016 is already here, and yet it’s never too late to take a look at the Japanese way of spending the night between years, and the first day of the new year. And what better place to explore the oshougatsu (お正月) practices, than the old capital, Nara. If you’re looking to spend the New Year…

The new year period, known as Oshogatsu, is a very significant occasion in Japan. Families gather, temples and shrines are visited, special new year’s cards (called nengajō) are exchanged and much preparation takes place, including a thorough cleaning of the house. A number of special dishes are exclusively eaten during the new year period as…

The New Year or “Shogatsu” is the perfect time for Japanese to carry out their yearly rituals, though it may not hold religious significance for them. One of their beliefs is that the God of the Year or “Toshigama-sama”, who brings abundance and happiness to each family, visits their homes. In preparation for this, each…

People eat Toshikoshi-soba which is buckwheat noodles eaten on new year’s eve. At midnight, people in Japan go to a temple to ring the bell. In Japan, there is a custom of ringing a bell as the new year comes. After doing that, they stop by the main hall of the temple to celebrate the…