A Traditional Japanese New Year Celebration

This January we finally enjoyed our first traditional Japanese New Year Celebration, complete with a taiko drum performance and mochi pounding.

It was a cultural event hosted by a local chapter of Ikebana International, of which many Americans are members. The setting was very historic--the private residence of a Buddhist monk on the grounds of the Great Daihatsu (the Great Budda). Anyone who comes to visit us has visted the Great Budda. Here Sydney and her friend Zelig hold what might as well be the "golden tickets" to the Great Budda, as we visit for maybe the seventh time in 2 1/2 short years.

This impressive private home accomodated more than 150 guests. We all sat (on comfortable stools) in the large, open tatami room, which had large glass doors to the lawn and garden area, where the taiko drummers performed.

It was somewhat difficult to see from the back (where we like to sit with our two antsy children), so Sydney, Zelig and several other kids were ushered by the hostess up front for a better view.

Sydney really enjoyed the drum performance...until the New Year dragon emerged, at which point she retreated away from the open windows. Shortly after, she called out to Zelig, who had his legs dangling out the window, fearing he might fall down to the dragon.

Then it was time for the mochi pounding, a traditional Japanese New Year ritual, where friends and family take turns with the kure (hammer) to pound cooked sticky rice until it turns into mochi. At New Year's, it is usually shaped into a chewy, sweet ball with a nutty sweet soybean powder coating called kinako. Here our friends Nicole and Kathleen give it a go.

After the ceremonies, Brian contained the girls while I gathered our Japanese bento box lunches and mikan. It's late, so Miranda is so hungry she chews on her hands while Sydney is happy with her blanket.

After a full day, we made our way back to Yokosuka by train--with our trash still in hand. Believe it or not, this is a typical Japanese experience in and of itself.

Drinking Dress Code

Japan is very fashionable, particularly in Tokyo. Women wear trendy high-heeled boots. Men carry a Louis Vuitton man purse.

Maybe that's why there's even a dress code for drinking this wine, given to me by one of my Japanese friends. My wardrobe could definitely use some sprucing up, although I undoubtedly will be wearing jeans when I pop this puppy open. Happy New Year!

Party Like It's 2009!

Although we found it hard to believe it's 10 years past Prince's futuristic song (Party like it's) 1999, Brian and I weren't sure we could keep up with our crazier friends on New Year's Eve in 2009. And by "keep up," I mean "stay up."

We are, after all, getting old--I more so than he, as he likes to remind me in this, the "blackout period" between my birthday in November and his in February. (For 3 months and 10 days, I am one year older than he, so as such I have mandated that no important events are supposed to occur in this period. However, Miranda, arriving 4 days late, was born one day into this blackout period, making me one year older than I'd planned to be when I had her! But she's forgiven. And I digress...)

We rang in the New Year at the countdown party at the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo with our friends the Watts and the Nelsons. But I guess Tokyo wasn't a big enough draw, so we were transported to spend an "Evening in Venice," this year's theme...hence the masks, which came in handy when we wanted to dance anonymously.

Kathleen had rearranged all the masks at each place setting in our favor before we arrived--and more importantly--before the four remaining strangers sat at our table. Three out of four of those unlucky people had to sport this chicken mask. (I love how Brian pretends to be shocked that I would don this thing in public. Or in his presence. But in my defense, this was towards the end of the party.)

So was this. Kathleen was fighting me for our pretend karaoke mic, which was, in fact, a noisemaker.

But that was not the end of the night! We left the party around 1am and made our way to the Absolut IceBar in Tokyo, where a mere ~$30 allows you to buy one beverage, wear borrowed coats and mittens and put your bum on ice for 45 minutes, after which you are kicked out--not that you'd want to stay much longer anyway. (I'd say "only in Japan," but they're not.)

Alas, the bar was closed, as Brian had suspected! Turns out, the IceBar Tokyo website explains this in English very clearly, if only we'd checked. In Japan, New Year's is more of a family holiday, one of the most important ones of the year. So, most restaurants and businesses are closed.

That didn't stop us. We kept on going till 3:30am actually! We connected with some other people we knew and a while later, here we are, pretty tired. We partied like it was 2009--which is to say we felt every one of the 1999 plus 10 years. But we had fun and we're still smiling! Happy New Year!