In Japan, the holiday season is different from America in that New Year's Day dwarfs Christmas Day in both importance and spectacle. Christmas might include Christmas Cake, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and one present if you are a kid. New Year's Day involves a detailed menu of specifically prepared Japanese dishes, a visit to the shrine, and large amounts of money given to the kids in the family. Some of the Christmas Day photos are posted all ready. Here is a taste of our New Year's Day in Kumamoto.
The Big Spread
On the table: bottom left is a plate full of sashimi (raw fish); the yellow bowl is kurikinton (chestnut and sweet potato); the bowl on the right is onishime, which is a mix of konyaku, lotus root, shiitake mushroom, carrot, gobo root, yam, and other fun stuff); the square box had lobster, ikura (raw salmon egg), seaweed rools; the bucket on the top left has daikon (radish) and carrots; and the top left plate features datemaki (baked egg and fish paste). Got all that? We ate this for brunch, and had leftovers for parts of meals in the next three days.
Happy New Year from the Ishizuka's house!
Lots of Japanese people go to a shrine once a year, during the New Year Holiday and pray for health and good fortune in the coming year. We went to Fujisaki Shrine in downtown Kumamoto City, and no one asked what '314' on my t-shirt meant.
Aunt Masae picked up a fantastic Ultraman mask for Hiro; it matched his colorful pajamas and vest perfectly.
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