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Shrines, sunrises and seeing the imperial family: Usher in New Year in Japan like a local
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Hatsumode, or the first shrine visit of the year, is meant to give thanks for the previous year and pray for good fortune in the next.
PHOTO: ANGELO MORALES
Angelo Morales
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JAPAN – While the New Year, also known as Shogatsu or Oshogatsu, is one of Japan’s most important holidays, I have come to learn in eight years of living here that it is a more laid-back affair than in many parts of the world.
Fireworks like those in Singapore are uncommon. So are big countdown parties, unless you go to one at a hotel or nightclub. In 2024, Japanese authorities cancelled the New Year’s Eve countdown event in front of Shibuya Station for a fifth consecutive year in a bid to contain street drinking and dangerous overcrowding.
