A Japanese style New Year in Kyoto

Along with my Japanese parents, Shigenori and Reiko, and their three boys, Daisuke, Kenzo and Yoshiki, we took the Shinkansen to Kyoto on December 31st. It takes only about 2 hours to get there.

Waiting at the bus stop (from left: Reiko, me, Yoshiki and Kenzo)

The Shinkansen

After arriving in Kyoto, we got our luggage checked in at the hotel before going to visit the Gion shrine.

The Iwasa family (from left: Yoshiki, Kenzo, Shigenori, Reiko, Daisuke)

I think it's time I explain a bit about my "Japanese parents". I've been referring to them as such but haven't really explained how I came to know them. They are actually my father's friends. Back in the days, when they were about the same age as I am now, Shigenori, Reiko and my father were all students of International Christian University (ICU). Shigenori and my father both stayed in the Canada House, along with other foreign students. In fact, Shigenori was apparently the first person my dad introduced himself to. And now, about 30 years later, they're still good friends and when they learned that Yuki's daughter (me!) was coming to Japan, they immediately welcomed me into their family. And they've helped me so much since I've arrived, helping me obtain the necessary documents for my life in Japan and making sure that I always have everything I need. Thank you! : D

So back to Kyoto. Later that evening, we had supper at the hotel along with Shigenori's mother, aunt, and his brother and his wife. We ate some very traditional Japanese food. I can say without a doubt that I tasted the weirdest textures and tastes that day. Sometimes, I didn't even know if what I was eating was a piece of meat or a vegetable. Let's just say it was a very interesting gustatory experience. But the food presentation was exquisite. I think the food decoration took longer than the cooking itself. Here are just a few photos:

The bowl in the upright left corner was made out of ice.

Our lovely server

All the dishes were so nicely plated and they came with one plate at a time. So our supper lasted over 3 hours! Halfway through the supper, the Kouhaku started so we had 4 cellphones laid out on the table to listen to the show.

The Kouhaku is a special music program that runs on New Year's Eve and features Japan's most famous and/or popular artists. Kou means red and haku means white and this is because there are two teams, the red team and the white team. So all the performing artists are divided and the two teams compete and at the end, a winner is declared. It was a great show. I was looking forward to it because I've been wanting to get to know more about Japanese music artists. I was surprised to hear a few songs that I recognized from listening to them in the car with my dad while driving to Winnipeg.

Then, at around 11 o'clock, we ate some delicious soba and then it was time for bed.

*  *  *

The next day, we ate some traditional food again for breakfast. Then the adults handed out otoshidama. Otoshidama is money given to children on New Year. And I received my first otoshidama!!! I'm not going to tell you how much lol but I'm definitely saving the money for my life here in Japan because everything is expensive here.

After breakfast and presents, we visited the Kitanotenmangu Shrine. It's one of the several hundred shrines across Japan dedicated to Sugawara Michizana, a famous scholar and politician. Sugawara Michizana is associated with Tenjin, the god of education, so many students will visit this shrine to pray for academic success. In Japan, in order to enter high school, you must pass a difficult entrance examination. It's a very serious matter. After their regular school, children will go to juku, a cram school, to study for the exam. Last year, Kenzo came to the shrine to pray for a successful high school entrance examination. And he passed! So this year, to thank the god of the shrine, he brought back the o-mamori (a kind of amulet) he had bought last year. And this year, since Yoshiki is going to be taking the entrance examination, he bought some o-mamori to help him succeed. I was also given an o-mamori, 技芸上達, which reads Gigeijoutatsu. Apparently, it means that I will improve in my art or craft. : )

Job accomplished: Kenzo giving back his o-mamori

Yoshiki with his grandmother and newly bought o-mamori

The shrine was so crowded. We wandered a bit around, stopping at a few booths along the way.

The crowd coming in as we were trying to get out

Drinking amazake: a traditional sweet drink made from fermented rice

Then, we ate lunch and shortly after it was time to take the train back home already. A short trip, but a very interesting trip, especially for me. I got the opportunity to see how New Year is celebrated in Japan. And I got to spend it with family : )