New Year's in Japan

New Year's in Japan in my experience seemed like the only time the entire country stopped at the same time. 

Factories close. Pollution is gone, and thus Mt. Fuji is visible. The post office doesn't deliver mail. Instead they hire seasonal employees to ride bicycles delivering only New Year's cards for the first three days of the year. 

My first New Year's in Japan (1990) grocery stores, banks, ATMs, etc. were closed for up to 5 days. So everyone had to make sure they had enough groceries.  (The blogger, thetokyochapter.com, has detailed blog posts about what's open January 1-3 in Tokyo.)

Japanese people would cook traditional New Year's foods ahead of time (Osechi Ryori), although now you can order your osechi.  Then the women could have a few days off cooking, as families would just eat the traditional foods (osechi, ozoni - New Year's soup, and mochi).  

New Year's is a time for visiting relatives.  So in preparation for New Year's, people do "big cleaning," replacing the shoji paper and fusuma paper in sliding doors, washing windows, etc.  Before the economic bubble burst, people would also replace old things in their houses, perhaps small kitchen appliances, stereos, dishes, etc.  I knew many missionaries who "shopped" the curb before New Year's. :) 

New Year's is also a time to make one's first visit of the year to the shrine &/or temple. Many people go to the ocean to view the first sunrise of the year.  And on New Year's Eve the temple bells ring 108 times symbolizing the cleansing from the 108 sins. (See blog post I wrote here.) 

Many people get together to pound rice into mochi (and every January the news reports how many elderly people die from choking on mochi).  It's also a tradition to write your first calligraphy (kakizome) of the new year around January 2nd.  One year our MK school had a kakizome tournament, and a Japanese lady had made samples to hang up of the fruit of the Spirit.  Afterwards, she was throwing them away, and a friend rescued them, and several of us copied them to hang in our homes.  (See my blog post here.) 

Churches usually have a first worship service of the new year (Gantan Reihai).  Some churches encourage everyone to choose a verse for the coming year. One year my language tutor asked me to choose a kanji for the coming year.  I chose "tomo" for with, from Isaiah 41.10.  She wrote it out for me, and I framed it.  

For a wedding gift, she gave us a wall hanging with the verse on it.  

New Year's can also be a time for retreats.  In 1990, I went on our church's young adults' ski retreat.  Often our team would have a Pray & Plan retreat during the New Year's holiday.  (This mug is a souvenir from a New Year's Pray & Plan, the one in which we received the joyous news that one of our MKs had gotten engaged - J&M!!) At the very least, we were each encouraged to have a personal Day of Prayer, setting goals for the year.   

OMF Japan posted on social media: 

Join us in praying for missionaries in Japan

Typically there are a few days in Japan this time of the year that are quiet in ministry. Pray for rest and refreshment for missionaries after a busy month.

Pray for good health and safety during these winter months.

Pray for families to have good quality time during school vacations.

I miss those quiet days the first week of January.  But, in God's providence, this year our family had a few days at home to rest between Christmas on Jim's side and Christmas on my side. We usually RUSH between different parts of the country or one part of the country and a cruise.  It was a new experience (and one our pre-teen LOVED!) to get to sleep in! :)