EXPERIENCE NEW YEAR'S IN JAPAN: ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S BIGGEST PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

New Year’s in Japan welcomes the beginning of another year as well as amazing sales. The New Year’s season is the equivalent to America’s Black Friday. The difference is that many stores have this thing called Fukubukuro or Lucky Bags. These lucky bags are not limited to retail stores, but expand to even food chains like McDonald’s and Starbucks. Basically, you pay a certain amount for a random bag filled with items totaling more than what you spent. It is a way to clean out inventory and draw more people to their establishment. Not every store does Fukubukuro, but they would have great discounted prices off their merchandise.

So, if you completed your first shrine visit of the year and do not plan on doing Hatsuhinode then head over to one of the famous store chains and line up for lucky bags. Some department stores would have long queue lines and if you really want the Fukubukuro then it is best to be one of the first groups. Remember these lucky bags can be a hit or a miss. You may end up with stuff you do not want. It is a gamble and proves to be a popular trend year after year.

In many English-speaking countries, they say “Happy New Year’s.” In Japan, the greeting is “Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu (明けましておめでとうございます).” For slang many say “Ake Ome,” which is the shortened version.

When meeting coworkers for the first time in the year it is customary to say the New Year’s greeting as well as “kotoshi yoroshiku onegaishimasu (今年よろしくお願いします),” which translates to “please take care of me this year.”

There is another phrase, but it usually said before the new year. The phrase is “yoi otoshi wo omukae kudasai (良いお年をお迎えください).” Many usually just say “yoi otoshi wo,” instead of the polite version. It basically means “have a happy new year.”

You finished many of your firsts of the year and now you are heading out for January 2nd. The second day of the year is when the Ippan Sanga happens. What is Ippan Sanga? It is an event where the Emperor and Empress as well as the imperial family make general public appearance. At this time the imperial family receive the New Year’s greetings from the public and the Emperor addresses the people with well wishes for the year. It is also one of the few times the public is allowed into the inner palace grounds.

For example, one year there were 5 appearances scheduled for the day. To be guaranteed an opportunity to see the imperial family then you have to make it past the gates by 2pm. There were many who lined up early in the morning to be part of the first batch to see the Emperor at 10 am. Another reason why it is good to arrive early is because there are two security check points you have to go through.

For this event the subway exits closest to the imperial palace will be closed for security purposes. Plus, it helps with the logistics of organizing the queue lines. Over the course of the day over 120,000 people attend the Ippan Sanga. Everyone enters through the main gate known as Nijubashi. As you go through the whole process there will be constant announcements to keep moving and walk slowly. Even if you want to stop and take a photo you have to somehow not impede the flow of traffic.

Once you are in the inner plaza in front of the Chowa Den Hall, you wait there until the imperial family makes their appearance on the balcony. After the speech everyone is funneled out into an area that branches to multiple exits. They have signs stating which exit is closest to what stations. The overall experience for the Ippan Sanga was well worth the lines and wait. It is a special event that most Japanese people have never attended and only seen from their television sets. If you ever have the chance to go then it is a definite recommendation.