Hatsumoude

I went to shinto shrine for hatsumoude last Sunday.

'hatsumoude' is a Japanese word that means to visit shrine or temple for the first time in a year.

I prayed for the desires of this year there.

This shrine is Iseyamakoutai-jingu in Yokohama.

Before prying, we have to clean hands and mouth at this place.

Because we use hand and mouth for praying.

1) Hold a dipper by your right hand, and dip up water from watering place. Then clean your left hand by water.

2) Hold the dipper by your left hand, clean your right hand.

3) Hold the dipper by right hand again, and ladle water into your left hand. Then wash your mouth by water.

4) Clean your left hand again.

There were many people to pray there.

Here is the manner of praying.

1) Throw coins into the box.

2) Bow 2 times. 

3) Clap 2 times.

4) Pray for your desires.

5) Bow 1 time.

This is most general way of praying, but there is different way for each shrine.

Omamori was sold in the shrine.

Omamori is kind of amulet.

Omamori is in right side of this picture.

The wooden pieces in left side is called ema.

People write the desires on the ema, and tie it on the board.

After that I drew a omikuji.

Omikuji is a piece of paper that a fortune is written on.

 

I got 'daikichi' that means big luck.

On the omikuji, these things were written...

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It is a good luck time when the accumulation of your effort is grown and is becoming a big harvest. It is also the time when something you have done for others comes back for you, and your scene gradually changes to a happy situation.

And also a person who understands and helps you will appear. Let's endeavor to keep and not to lose this chance.

--------------

I hope that this good luck is really in for me in this year.

After the omikuji is read, it is usually tied on a branch.

Ropes were placed there for omikuji.

People tied omikuji to this ropes.

But you have to do this only when you get bad fortune omikuji.

You can bring  back good fortune omikuji.

I bought a goheimochi and ate it.

Goheimochi is a baked mochi.  

It is put on a stick, and flavored with soy sauce miso.

It was very fine day. 

I didn't think it will be heavy snow next day.

A snow day

Since the weather forecast said it will be rain yesterday, I had slept until noon today. When I wake up and open window, there were white world.

Snow!!

I surprised very much.

It is rarely snow in my town.

Of course I couldn't drive car and motorbike, so I went to shopping mall on foot.

A park near to my home.

It was snow and  blowing strong window as well,  so I was hard to walk.

When I came back my home...

neighbors were building snowmen.

They seemed to build many snowmen.

I bought a pair of new shoes for tommorrow at shopping mall.

This shoes have waterproof and nonslip.

Play with friends

I played with my friends on Saturday.

We went to Kawasaki city.

This building is a kind of game center.

I was surprised by this strange gate.

It seemed be closed, and I didn't know where I enter from. 

(This gate automatically opened and sounded.)

Inside the building is designed  to look like the city of Hong Kong.

The first floor and second floor is like this, but upper floors is usual game center.

We went to floor of darts.

There is TV games, coin games, billiards and karaoke  besides darts.

One of my friend is good at darts.

He plays darts almost everyday!

I borrowed his arrows.

After we put a coin into the machine, we selected type of game and started  the game.  At the darts machine we can selected many type of games. Not only automatically calculates score, this machine also provide network game. Even if I play alone, I can play with someone who is in other game center over the network.

Actually, I'm not good at darts, but we enjoyed very much.

So... we forgot the time passing... and we had played for 5 hours.

(My legs were sore.)

After that we went to Italian restaurant.

Very tasty pasta!

We ate enough foods, and drank wine.

But,  somehow we came to want to eat 'gyoza'.

So we went to another restaurant, and we ate ...

40 piece Gyoza and drank beer.

I ate too much.

I have to do diet again.

Dishes of new year day in Japan

Happy new year!

My name is koba.

I have studied Englsih for six months. 

I try to write blog by English, and I will introduce Japanese life in this blog.

(If I write strange sentence, please excuse me.)

Today, I write about Japanese dishes of the new year day. 

At last day of the year, we eat 'toshi-koshi soba'.

'toshi-koshi' means 'end of year'.

'soba' is a kind of noodle.

I ate this.

Why do we eat soba at the end of year?

According to Wikipedia, there is some reason.

One of them..., soba is long, so we can live long time if we eat soba.

A first day of year, we eat 'Osechi-ryori'.

'Osechi-ryori' is like this.



This red boxes is osechi-ryori.

It can be put on them of each other, and can be made one box.

Various foods is beautifully served in each box.

Osechi-ryori is traditionally made at home, but these boxes was bought by my father.

(It was expensive...I heard)

We also eat this soup on new year day.

It's called 'zouni'. Mochi(white food. it's made from rice.) is in the soup.

Taste of soup and kind of food in the soup is different at each region.

Baked fish.

The fish is 'tai' (sea bream).

We eat this fish at the celebration.