Happy New Year!!

In the US the celebration time is midnight. In Japan it’s dawn:

People go see the dawn on the New Year’s Day and pray to the sun. They vaguely believe that it would bring good luck to them.

I hope you people all had great Christmas. Well, as you already noticed I’ve taken a few days off and didn’t update the site. Now I am back on my routine.

After Christmas is over, the whole nation switches to the traditional Japanese mode, and local stores are not exceptions to the rule:

People buy these things and hang them on their front door.

Now, tomorrow in Japan (January 1st) will look more like Christmas Day in the US: Everything will shut down, people stay home and enjoy quality family time at home.