New years

Happy new year by the way!!! I hope it's a good one for all of us:D

I had a very traditional Japanese New yrs Eve, I was one of 108 people who got a ticket to ring the bell at midnight at the local Buddhist temple, thanks to my friends, Kazuko and Eichan!

It was very exciting for me as I queued up with the local people, including some of my students, who were, I think, very surprised to see me.

New years eve and the first 3 days of the new year are spent visiting temples and shrines (hatsu mou de - going to shrines for the first time in the new year), making prayers and buying fortunes (omikuji). If you don't like the fortune you get you tie it to a tree or wooden structure at the temple/shrine (being very carefull to not tear the paper) and then buy another one at another place!

New years day is also celebrated with a big feast as evidenced in the above pic, mmm, I love Japanese food! Kazuko san is giving the recipe for the shitake mushrooms so expect some experimenting soon:D