A Japanese New Year's Eve

So around 4:00 on December 31, I say to Casey "Huh. I think tonight is New Year's Eve." He replies "Is it seriously? Wow, we're on top of it." Being in Japan has totally thrown off our holiday groove (if you will remember, we couldn't remember when Thanksgiving was coming around either. Oh, the shame.)

We decided we would just be lame and sleep through it...for the second year in a row (Bridger's one-month-old status last year kinda forced us into that one.)

But then we decided we'd officially be old fogies if we did that, and even more, that we'd miss a great chance to experience New Year's in Japan if we just went to bed, so we changed our minds.

We started off the evening with an awesome game of basketball. As in, we threw one of Bridger's toy balls into a laundry basket. Who knew something like that could be so fun? I am shamed to say that Casey won the battle. We played three games: I won the first, but he got the second two. I feel a rematch coming on. 

This is Casey dominating. I'm not putting a pic of me on here, as I looked like a hobo at this point.

Joining in on the fun.

And now for the real New Year's celebrations. New Year's is a huge holiday in Japan. Christmas is not all that big around here, which is understandable since Christianity is so rare here. It is celebrated, but it is simply a time to give a couple of presents and eat a Christmas cake. At least, this is what I've heard. 

But New Year's is a party. For New Year's Eve, droves of people are found at one of the hundreds of shrines that dot Japan. We decided to join in on the fun and headed to Miyazaki Jingu (Shrine) with our friends, the Petersons. We got there around 11:30 and waited in an ever-growing line (I'm talking thousands of people here, folks. Thankfully, most of them were behind us). At midnight, we headed into the shrine. 

In line with Julie and Heidi

The line in front of us...

And behind...

Casey performing the ritual of washing his hands before entering the shrine.

We first threw coins into a long basin and made wishes for the new year. I believe they might be considered prayers by the Japanese. I'm not really sure. There were a lot of booths set up, so we headed over to one to get some fortune papers, much like fortune cookies without the cookie, for the coming year. Pretty sure Casey's and mine were almost identical, and they both said something about not being afraid to travel (done and done!), studying a lot, and having a blessing on our family. 

Throwing in our coins and making wishes/prayers.

Fortunes!

We then bought a souvenir, which is a bow and arrow that will protect our home. And of course, we got some food at the booths outside of the shrine. Casey got a chicken kabob (kabob is seriously the best word ever) and I got a candied-apple. 

We were planning to watch the first sunrise of the year with our friends as well as this is also a huge thing to do in Japan.  However, we felt that we would be horrible parents if we woke Bridger up again for more festivities so soon. So we let him sleep and got a little shut-eye ourselves. 

Casey tying his fortune to this twine, which is the traditional thing to do when leaving the shrine.

All in all, the most unique New Year's we've experienced so far. It was awesome.