Tag Archives: New Year

The start of bonfire

Posted on 2015/01/15

Dondo-Yaki

Dondo-Yaki ( どんど焼き ) is a bonfire festival celebrated around mid-January in Japan. The festival name varies according to regions. It is also commonly known as Sagicho Festival ( 左義長 ). Such local events are less known to foreigners including myself. After years of staying in Japan, this is my first time to hear about this event and to experience it here. In preparation for the bonfire festival, the local people build a tower made of bamboo, straws, daruma dolls and other New Year decorations. The traditional belief is that the burning of the tower will bring fortune, happiness and success in all aspects of life. The local people also… Read More

A sophisticated kadomatsu

Posted on 2015/01/15

Kadomatsu

I’ve always wondered what these decorations represent in Japan. They are usually placed in pairs in front of office buildings around the end of December till the beginning of January. After reading more about it, I learned that these decorations are known as ‘Kadomatsu’ ( 門松 ), meaning ‘gate pine’ and is used to celebrate New Year in Japan. They come in a variety of designs and sizes. What’s interesting is that each design varies according to the local area. Main materials in the decorations are pines and bamboos. In the olden Japanese customs, people believed that a divine spirit ( 神 ) dwelled in evergreen. If they placed an… Read More

In this shoes store is important to choose the Happy Bag with the appropriate foot size.

Posted on 2015/01/05

Happy Bag

At last he has started 2015 and have also started the sales in Japan. Shopping centers are crowded with Japanese people who wants to buy cheap articles they desire. A fun way to buy at this time are the Lucky Bags, also called Happy Bags, Fukubukurou 福袋in Japanese. These bags contain items with a value much higher than the price of these bags are sold, so sometimes it’s normal to see people queuing to buy some bags in some stores. Sometimes we don’t know the exact contents of the bags, and that’s also an added excitement, but generally included items are shown to customers. Any type of store offers these… Read More