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Jan 02 2009 14 Comments

Japanese New Year fun and festivities

On or around January 1st, an absolutely huge number of Japanese go to either a local or large shrine to pray — a rough but nonetheless rigourous reckoning of mine putting the figure at approximately 87.34 percent of the population. However, due to Japan’s refreshingly relaxed approach to religion, the emphasis is much more on fun rather than fervour.

Japanese New Year

A large amount of said fun being focused around food,

Japanese New Year

as well as some fancy outfits.

Japanese New Year

Oh, and a fair bit more food.

Japanese New Year

Along with the longing for a bit of luck,

Japanese New Year

in some form or other.

Japanese New Year

And, quite possibly, the further addition of more traditional togs.

Japanese New Year

Plus, of course, a final bit of food to finish off the festivities.

Japanese New Year

(click images for super-sized sustenance)

Categorized: Culture, Food and Drink, Religion

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. K_101 says

    1/2/2009 at 10:50 pm

    The old man in the last picture looks really sort of lost……

    Nice pics!

    Reply
  2. Becky says

    1/2/2009 at 11:09 pm

    Haha, totally agree!

    Love the kimono. Just so pretty.

    Reply
  3. locohama says

    1/3/2009 at 1:30 am

    Really great shots, dude. You captured the atmosphere brilliantly!!!
    Sugoi ne (-:

    Loco

    Reply
  4. Magnus369 says

    1/3/2009 at 5:39 am

    reading this post first thing in the morning at work…
    staring at the food…

    Only question I have is, what was being cooked in those two pictures? (yes, actually hungry enough to lick the screen :P)

    Reply
  5. Lee says

    1/3/2009 at 9:35 am

    Cheers. Glad you like the photos.

    From the top Magnus369, it’s takoyaki, okonomiyaki and the old boy at the bottom is selling chillies.

    Reply
  6. Jason says

    1/3/2009 at 9:50 am

    Lee, I think this is possibly your best set of photos yet.

    Japanese festivals and all the stuff associated with New Year’s are some of my favorite things about Japan. I dig the whole scene. I got to spend my last New Year’s in Japn in Kyoto.

    Reply
  7. Big D says

    1/3/2009 at 1:44 pm

    Great Sets of Photos! Looks like it was a lot of fun, my type of events.
    I always heard that japanese always know how to throw a party, or festival and I always find Japanese festivities very interesting and entertaining, especially with New Year being the biggest holiday of all. I hope to really experience it myself someday.
    And I also heard how the Japanese loves their food, it’s looks delicious!

    Reply
  8. freedomwv says

    1/3/2009 at 7:21 pm

    The Japanese really know how to kick off the new year.

    Reply
  9. Mike says

    1/6/2009 at 8:28 am

    Nice photos Lee. The older generations taking part really brings a deeper meaning to the New Year. Plus they make such great subjects!

    Reply
  10. difuser88 says

    1/6/2009 at 4:40 pm

    Hi, I really like your pic.
    Can you tell me a little bit about the lighting conditions and what equipment you used ?
    flash ?
    lens ?
    Thanks!

    Reply
  11. Kurisu says

    1/8/2009 at 4:39 am

    Wow, beautiful pictures!

    Reply
  12. Lee says

    1/8/2009 at 8:51 am

    Cheers!

    No flash difuser88, I used a Nikon D300 with the Nikkor 85mm 1.4D AF. My favourite new toy.

    Reply

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