Another new year in Japan, means another stab at fukubukuro, or lucky bag shopping! The gist of fukubukuro is heading to the mall on New Year’s Day, and buying a bag with unknown contents for a set price. The contents…
A visit to a shrine, within the first few days of the new year, is a very important aspect of Japanese culture, known as hatsumode. There are various celebrations held at these shrines, but we chose to attend the Daruma…
New Year’s Day is the most important Japanese holiday, where many “firsts” are celebrated. Some of these special firsts include; first prayer, first sunrise, and first …SALE! The Japanese phenomenon known as fukubukuro, (or “lucky/happy bag”), entails heading to a store…
On day 2 of our Tokyo-in-the-New-Year weekend, we went to this awesome area called Asakusa. I LOVED this neighborhood! The great Senso-ji temple was the first stop, which is the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan. The Japanese people try to get to…
Whew, what a crazy, but fun, weekend! The New Year’s holiday is the most celebrated in Japan. Most people are off work for the entire week, and many shops and restaurants are also closed for several days. We spent January…