In no particular order, here are our Top 10 ways to celebrate New Years in Japan (Kobe Edition). Many of these traditions are nationwide while some are specific to Kobe.
1. Visiting Ikuta Shrine for hatsumoude
First thing to do for New Years in Japan is to visit a shrine. Every year the streets around Ikuta Shrine in Kobe are closed off to cars from December 31st – January 3rd as many yatai (street stalls) line the roads leading to the famous central shrine in Kobe city. Hatsumoude is the tradition of the first prayer of the New Year, with crowds forming shortly after midnight. Buying an hatsumikuji (new year fortune slip) is a must. You can find similar scenes at shrines across Japan.
2. Visiting Minatogawa Shrine for hatsumoude
Next up we have Minatogawa Shrine. Just like Ikuta Shrine, it draws crowds of people across the new year period as many come to the first prayer of the year. The grounds are filled with yatai and there are big signs that represent the new Chinese Zodiac.
3. Eating at a street stall
Lining the streets around the shrines across Japan you will find many yatai (street stalls) selling a variety of local dishes, candied fruit and toys. In Kobe, as mentioned above, the two popular areas are around Ikuta Shrine and Minatogawa Shrine.
Popular yatai dishes in Kobe include, takosen (cracker base with variety of toppings including a sunnyside up egg), gyu kushi (beef sticks), karage (fried chicken pieces), yaki soba (fried soba noodles), hashimaki (okonomiyaki wrapped around chopsticks), yaki tori (chicken skewers) and many more. You can usually find a couple of foreign food stands selling kebabs or Indian food too.
New Year Soba 
Stall at a Shrine 
Buying New Year Fortune
4. Eating toshikoshi soba
On December 31st eating soba noodles to wish for a long healthy life is a popular tradition at New Years in Japan. In the olden days, one soba noodle would be long, so continually eating the noodle was believed to bring longevity. These days, most soba noodles are cut short but the tradition remains to eat toshikoshi soba.
5. Countdown at local clubs, pubs & bars
Countdown parties are all the rage, especially at the gaijin (foreign) friendly pubs, clubs and bars in all major cities across Japan. Here in Kobe the main drag is along Ikuta Shinmichi between Flower Road and Ikuta Road. This includes all the side streets running South to North from Sankita-dori to Yamatakansen. That might sounds difficult if you’re not familiar with Kobe but the area is quite small and you can easily bar hop from spot to spot which many people do. The only problem you will have is deciding where to do the countdown!
6. Eating osechi & o-zoni
Food plays a big part in new year traditions in Japan and osechi and ozoni are the staple food to eat on New Year’s Day with leftovers continually being eaten the days after. Ozoni is a simple soup with styles that vary from region to region. A clear stock or white miso stock is used as the base with mochi, mitsuba, kameboko and chicken added. Osechi is traditional Japanese New Year food with the food representing special meanings such as good health, longevity, fertility and good fortune. Food in osechi include black beans, fish, vegetables and more.
Lining up to enter Ikuta Shrine 
Kobe’s main street is closed for 3 days
7. Watching hatsuhinode
For the more energetic amongst us, waking up early (or perhaps not sleeping at all) and watching hatsuhinode (the first sunrise of the new year) is a great way to get refreshed and start the New Year with a positive mind. Here in Kobe, heading up to one of the many viewpoints of the Rokko mountain range to catch the first sunrise is popular. Fill a flask with some hot coffee and watch the sun rise in the Land of the Rising Sun.
8. Getting a New Year bargain and fukubukuro .
Department stores and retail shops across the country open their doors and welcome the New Year with hatsu-uri (New Year sales). A few years ago, most shops are closed on January 1st with the 2nd or 3rd as opening days, so the 1st can be quiet. Check your favourite shop window for their new year hours and get in early to grab a bargain. Kobe Daimaru and surrounding shops will open their doors at 9:30am on January 2nd.
Merchants across the country pack special bags with a random goods and sell them at a heavy discount. These bags are called fukubukuro (lucky bags). Shoppers don’t know what’s inside the bag so it’s a bit of a gamble. Clothes shops, for example, will group items of the same size into a bag so you will a least get something that fits.
9. Giving the gift of otoshidama
Children across Japan receive a new years money gift called otoshidama from family members. This money is usually spent on buying something they want from the new year sales or saved in the bank for the future. Depending on the family and age of the child the gift money value changes but as a rule of thumb you can’t go wrong with 10,000 yen!
10. Sending out nengajo
Finally on our list is the New Year Postcard or nengajo. For most of December postcards are sold out the front of the post office or shopping centers. These postcards are usually blank with buyers printing and/or writing a personalised greeting thanking family, friends and acquaintances for the past year and continued support for the upcoming year. They are sent out en masse at the end of the year and will usually arrive in your letterbox on New Year’s day or just after.
That wraps up our list of what happens for New Years in Japan.
Have we left anything off the list? Let us know!
