New Years and other happenings!

Well New Years has come and gone and, being as it's arguably Japan's biggest holiday, I thought I should write about it!

I spent New Years with my host mom, Machico-san's family in a small town about two hours away.  After I got back from Hong Kong my Machico-san and Kojirou had already left for her parents house, but as my host dad Kenichi-san had work, we left together on the afternoon of the 31st after doing some cleaning around the house (I feel proud to say I cleaned the room with the ofuro (bath) exceptionally well- better than Kenichi-san normally does!! ).  We took the train and reached our destination just in time for dinner.  And boy, did we eat.  I was at their home from the 31st until the afternoon of the second, and my stomach was always full! I learned on new year's eve, Japanese usually eat "soba" noodles, noodles made from buckwheat flour.  Soba is eaten because the noodle strands are long and thin, representing longevity and happiness.  The morning of the 1st we had o-mochi, mochi being rice pounded into dense, sticky cakes.  The rest of the meals we had everything under the sun in Japanese cuisine, and it was very delicious!

In terms of new year's activities, the days were pretty quiet.  On the 31st we just had dinner, chatted, and stayed up to watch a popular concert on television that brings in the new year. On the first I went to a jinja, a Japanese shinto shrine, with my host parents, Kojirou, and my Machico-san's brother.  We didn't wait in line to pay respects to the kami (god) or burn incense or get our fortune told as it was too crowded, but it was really nice to walk around and see all the sites and be a part of Japanese new year! The Japanese people are not very religious, and to most visiting the temple or jinja is more a custom than a religious act.  It's been interesting learning more about the shinto religion and the Japanese people's relationship to it.

After that we went to karaoke, always a very fun activity! On the second we went for walks, saw swans and ducks (even black swans!), had lunch at a sushi restaurant, and then Kenichi-san and I headed home, Machico-san and Kojirou following the next day.  It was a really nice and relaxing new years!

Other events of note- the next day I had fugu with Kenichi-san's brother, Seiji-san.  Fugu (blowfish) is a specialty of Japanese (and maybe other Asian countries?) cuisine, and long ago used to be dangerous to eat because the blowfish is very poisonous if not prepared correctly and people used to die because of ingesting the poison.  I personally don't know why they went to all this risk though- I was able to try fugu three ways: raw, fried, and boiled, and really it doesn't taste like anything. If someone wants to risk their life for a meal, let it be something more delicious at least!

Went to a jazz cafe with one of my friends- really relaxing and also really fun to see the Japanese jazz scene! The next day this same friend's host mom took us to Kowagoe, a part of Tokyo known for it's old buildings, actually a rarity in Tokyo I think largely because of WWII.  It was a really fun outing and my friend's host mom was so so nice! She bought me extra presents at the end of the trip saying, "onna-na hito dake!", meaning just for girls (my friend was a boy, so I think she was glad to be showing around a girl).

Then got to go to my host dad's family's house last weekend for a "shin-nen-kai".  "Shin" means new, "nen" means year, "kai" means meeting, so basically a lunch celebrating the new year.  It was also seijinshki, a day that celebrates all 20 year-olds coming of age in Japan.  Girls wear beautiful kimonos with long sleeves and colorful fabrics.  Boys usually wear suits to the ceremony.  I was actually invited as I am 20 this year, and when I talked to my host family about it they suggested the ceremony might be boring for me as I probably wouldn't be able to understand it.  Another one of my American program-mates tried to attend the ceremony but ended up leaving- his host family wasn't allowed to enter (it must just be for the 20 year olds), and as he was the only foreigner he felt very uncomfortable and didn't know anyone. So given his experience, I am glad I didn't go.  Probably what I will do at some point is wear kimono and take photos at a shrine or temple.  We were actually going to do that at Kenichi-san's parents house, as his mom makes kimono, but we didn't have time, so another day!

Just about all caught up. Bought my ticket to Okinawa yesterday! I will be there from Feb 5th until probably March 5th.  Very very very exciting!!!!!!!