New Year in Japan is far more important than Christmas. Christianity has never taken a hold here so this is no surprise. Nor is it a surprise that Christmas has been hijacked by cakes and romance rather than families and warm fuzzy feelings. And so yesterday was the first day of the New Year. As we were waking up to the strange sensation of not having a New Year hangover those across the pond in the Americas were still stuck in 2007.
Yet we woke up to a clean house, really clean. As with Japanese tradition we had bought our wipes, broomes, clothes and gloves ready for the great December 31st Clean-up. Natsumi tackled the tough wet jobs in the bathroom and kitchen while I battled nature. This was my nature, someone allergic to dust was given the task of dusting everything and hoovering it all up afterwards. Oh and I got to do the man thing and build a cabinet. Sure it is a bit wobbly but that's the instructions fault not mine. The cabinet was a wedding present from our friend Aiko. No, not a present from our wedding, Natsumi was given the cabinet as a present for attending Aiko's wedding in the Autumn.
Once in place Natsumi decorated the top with a Welsh Dragon from Chepstow Castle, Boo the Teddy-pig and a pair of miniature swings (actually a photo frame). Meanwhile in went my writing books to stop the wobble. After a super Christmas for DVDs (Dr. Who 3, Spooks 1&2, New Tricks, Hyperdrive 1&2, Football My Arse, Top Gear 1 and Top Gear: The Challenges) we have enough space in our DVD cabinet for 2 DVDs. They will have to be wise choices and may include Transformers... if I can bring myself to buy it.
So to New Years Day. It started of sluggishly with a lay in then Natsumi and I went to the Kishiwada Shrine to make our New Year prayer. This involves chucking a 10-yen (5p) coin in to a box, bowing twice, ringing a bell, clapping our hands twice then making the prayer and bowing a final time. My prayer was a noble secret for I do not wish it to be broken. Meanwhile the clapping and bowing was a mystery until we arrived where it helped warm us up in the freezing conditions. Prayer over it was time for us hearty pagans to get an omikuji, a luck prediction for 2008. We payed 100-yen for the change to hold a wooden box. It was a hexagonal tube with a little hole at one end. After some shaking a wooden stick slid out. Once shown to the Shrine-maiden she would open a drawn and hand us a folded up piece of paper. My prediction was Kichi which means average-good. Natsumi got a good-kichi so beat me this year.
Then it was time for me to once again teach her family some Japanese culture. If one receives one of the bad predictions then to ward off the ill-luck one ties the paper to a holy tree or the necklace of a stone bull-idol. Then one is free to get a new omikuji. In 2005 at my first such event in Kyoto with a friend, her brother and parents my friend's brother got two bad-omikuji in succession, tied them to a tree and gave up.
Post-Shrine we raced back to the car and turned the heater onto the Immolation setting and drove off for a starbucks. Somehow my iced-tea turned into a Chai-latte but eventually it was changed back again (with 110yen being returned for the difference in price). This is not the first time such a thing has happened. I may be speaking Japanese but there's no telling what people hear. The first time I ordered a Green Tea in a Japanese Starbucks I ended up with a Coffee Frappaccino...my disliking of coffee is well-known amongst friends.
Then to Crab-Nabe (stew) with Natsumi's mother. Her brother did not join us and her father was at work so it was just the three of us. As usual Natsumi started eating (Tai-fish leftovers) long before the meal was ready and was properly stuffed by the end of the meal. The Nabe (means pot) was filled with mushrooms, cabbage, tofu and crab. As we ate we were able to watch the annual sportsman contest. This involves some of the best Japanese athletes and some random Americans. I do hope sometime to see perhaps a Kiwi or Aussie rugby player or some iron man from Scandinavia but there is only one foreign country i guess. This time the American, Paul Anthony Tellec did not win. Last year he glumly won the contest and only smiled in victory. This year he was a little more relaxed. The contest was won by a Japanese Handball player. The biggest shock of the evening was a comedian called Waki Waki winning the Impossible Tail contest.
Oh to Tuesday, today. Tonight Iowa votes and I for one am praying for an Obama victory to derail Clinton. If she wins then the Republicans will keep power. The contest in America has been fascinating. Not maybe because any one of the entrants is amazing (though the big O is best) but because it is so close. It does compare well against the debacle of Brown's coronation.
The day was spent watching the end of Dr.Who series 3. It was wacky and weird but a good romp through 4 episodes. The series is going well though it needs to create a new long-running bad guy for the Doctor which isn't a Dalek, Cyberman or Time Lord. Was good to see Jack Harkness again. It tempts me to try out his Torchwood series when I go home.
Next up we drove to the Aeon shopping centre. The place was unbelieveably busy. Parking took nearly half-an-hour with all the queues and trying to find someone about to leave so we could mark the spot and get in as they pulled out. Luckily it was all good natured. We'd round a corner seeing someone about to get in their car only to find a cheeky chappy in a small mini smiling at us with his indicator on park. Then we got lunch in Starbucks, a nice quiche with a ham-muffin and a macha frappaccino (green tea). Natsumi had a cafe mocha or something with a salmon sandwich. Once home we contested a good natured game of Othello where you turn the counters over to black or white trying to get as many as you can. Natsumi fought off a spirited comeback to take the first game 35-29 but collapsed into despair in the Second game as I captured all 4 corners and won 49-15. Here is a picture of that total victory just for her...