I know it's a little late, but Happy New Year everyone! ちょっと遅いけど、あけましておめでとうございます！
Celebrating New Year in Japan is a totally different thing compared to Australia. Whereas in Australia, people will typically party on the New Year's Eve, recover from the previous night's party on New Year's Day, and then back to work the next day, Japan is a totally different thing altogether, at least from what I experienced.
For starters, the holiday lasts from the 1st of January until 4th, so a majority of businesses are closed during this period. Also during this period, people will go to temples and shrines and pray for safety, good health, etc. During this time, everyone is going to the temples and shrines, so the more popular ones are incredibly busy. My girlfriend and I did exactly that, although we didn't go to any of the busier ones. We went to Goryou Shrine to pray, before we headed to Shimogamo Shrine, and we decided to check our fortune. My girlfriend had told me previously that whenever she had her fortune told, she would always end up with a bad one - so imagine her surprise when she received the best fortune possible. I ended up with the second best one, so I was happy too, and as per the instructions, I'm keeping that fortune in my wallet. We had a look some more around the shrine area, before we started going around the food stalls area, and ate just about everything possible - taiyaki, candied strawberries, chocolate bananas, takoyaki, red bean soup with mochi (sticky rice cake) in it - yeah, quite a bit. I also had a chance to sample some shouchu that I spotted at a stall. Having little experience in the way of drinking (especially drinks that she's never tried before), she drank in one go and was completely overwhelmed by the strength of the alcohol, while I slowly sipped mine so I can get an idea of the taste. The taste actually reminded me of the Vocaloid Shouchu Lily that I bought on my previous trip to Japan. However, compared to that, this sample was certainly a lot stronger, and the taste more distinct. I was considering buying it, but the price kind of chased me away. However, I will keep it in mind to possibly purchase before I return to Australia.
Also, I forgot to mention, it snowed on New Year's Day and the day after. Having never seen snow before (because I live in Western Australia, and it never snows there because of the climate), I was totally excited. On the second day, at night my girlfriend and I headed to Gosho and play in the snow, building snowmen and throwing snowballs at trees to knock off all the snow hanging on them. Also, because of the snow, it was fairly bright at night, making walking around Gosho really easy.
Anyway, that's it for now. I finish uni at the end of this month, and then I'll have two months of break before I return to Australia. I certainly do have plans for the break, so I'll be sure to post about it when it happens.
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