So the New Year's holidays came and went, and I'm back at university for two weeks before our real spring break. Which means lots of exams. Fun for me. But I just wanted to share what I got up to for New Year's Eve here.
First though, this was my Christmas Lunch in Japan:
That's a university campus lunch and kanji revision. Why? Because the holiday didn't start until December 26th! And I had a kanji test in the afternoon...
On New Year's Eve, we had a small party in the lounge of our dorm. The landlord made us all soba noodles! It's traditional to eat them at New Year because the long noodles signify a long life... and they were really tasty!
We also watched one of the TV shows that are on from 7ish til midnight. This one was full of the most popular singers and groups this year, and the men and women are split into teams competing against eachother. We left before I found out how they're chosen and what they all win... It was kind of similar to the Eurovision song contest - the over-the-top outfits, the pop overload, (the inability of some contestants to sing in tune...) - but I did miss Graham Norton's commentary!
We left the house a bit before midnight to go and visit a local temple for Hatsumode. (A lot of people go to Shinto shrines for this, but I guess our landlord is quite Buddhist). It was fun, we got to ring this big bell, and then there was some free amazake (sweet alcohol; it tasted kind of like syrupy porridge, though not as nice...). I also got my New Year's fortune, and got small luck, so that's good ~
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