New Year's Revolution

This fortnight break for Christmas and New Year has predominantly involved me sleeping until noon, doing very little work, and then going to bed. Which would be fine if this were a typical winter holiday, except this is merely a short gap before my end-of-term exams, reports and presentations, i.e. I should really be spending my time studying and not typing up blogs.

Nevertheless, I must endeavour to tell you about my New Year experience, as it was obviously different than usual. Myself, Talyn, Anthony and Iran met up for dinner at a lovely soba restaurant in Shinkyogoku, followed by an impromptu photo sticker-booth session before heading off to do New Year Japanese style at Yasaka Shrine, the place to do it apparently. And even though this was a highly important religious event in the Japanese calendar (more so than even Talk Like A Pirate Day - savvy?), there were still plenty of stalls about, peddling hot food, snacks, sweets, raffles, toys and games.

Crowds gathered for okera maeri, in which you light a small strip of rope from the temple flame to be taken back with you to light the first household fire of the new year. It was also an opportunity to warm your hands on what was an exceptionally cold night. We headed through the Shrine to wander around Maruyama Park in the moonlight and engaged in a rendition of A-Ha's Take On Me with a soba-seller on the way. After a brief stop in a warm, indoor souvenir shop, we walked past the main gate and up the staircase to Chionin Temple, home of Pure Land Buddhism and the biggest bell in Japan - perfect for the joya no kane ritual, in which the New Year is ushered in by ringing the temple bell 108 times to purge mankind of the 108 Buddhist sins. The crowds had gathered and we joined the winding line to watch the ritual take place.We arrived around bong #35 to see the 17 monks swing the beam into the giant bell, a spectacular sight indeed. As we hung around to catch some more bongs, Lenka popped out of nowhere! She and her boyfriend James had been there since 8.30pm (we'd only got there around 10.30pm) and were braving the freezing temperature to watch the event in its entirerity. We decided to leave around bong #56, half an hour to midnight.

But what to do and where to go when the big hand touched the little hand? Time was ticking away, Ilan had vanished and Tal was queueing for a curry! With minutes to spare, all members of our party assembled in front of a less then impressive clock by Maruyama Park to watch the countdown. But it still said 11:55 when our mobile phones read 00:00 - so we let out a whoop and a squeal and danced about. However, the Japanese didn't do a damn thing. While my usual New Year's peaks at this time, the actual turning of the clock is relatively insignificant in Japan, as one takes the whole night and into the first sunrise of morning to make their temple visits (which explained the vast queues to get into Yasaka Shrine as we left at around 2am). Not me though, it was too too cold. I'm not keen on celebrating Christmas in the southern hemisphere, but I'd be quite happy to celebrate the New Year in a warm climate, that's for sure.

I spoke to Baptiste, Parn, John Dykes and Rory Chu on the phone from Tokyo as a couple of other foreigners came over to offer us champagne. Tal and Tony had to get up early in the morning, so they left soon after midnight - but myself and Ilan stayed to watch a young circus tricks performer. If you've been to an eight-year-old's birthday party, you've already seen his act (Wow! Balloon poodle!), but it was all fresh to the majority of spectators. Either it was lack of experience or the cold or both (or all three), but his tricks were rarely 100% successful (dropping a juggling ball here and there), so when it came to the knives and flaming torches, it made it all a little more exciting, but fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), nothing disastrous happened.

Although the crowds were still very much out in force with roads closed and policemen and green beret-wearing guards diverting people down alleyways, it was time to return to Mukaijima around 2am - good to see the trains running throughout the whole night, though it'd also be welcome on Fridays and Saturdays every week.

The next two days were spent as mentioned before, but I made the effort to visit Heian Shrine for Hatsumode (the first visit of the year) to see what all the fuss was about. And even though it was now the 3rd day of the holidays, the crowds in Kyoto were even busier than on New Year's Eve. The stalls were all present and correct as thousands descended on the shrine to offer money, tie little paper strips to branches, make inscriptions on wooden plaques (there was a sign showing who in particular should do so, based on age and gender, probably connected with those born in a Year of the Boar as is 2007), buy souvenir arrows - no idea what it was all about, but interesting to see all the same. Some people even came in traditional garb, both men and women, but even then, the fashionistas were clearly in competition. One gaggle of kimono girls had more accessories on them than a teenager's mobile phone.

That evening, it was a Mukaijima karaoke session, which was pretty much like every other one, except I had a nice cocktail called Violet Fizz (or Violent Fish as it came to be known) that tasted like alcoholic Parma Violet sweets. Nice. And then it was back to reality, and as every bit exciting as that sounds.

More photos naturally at MyFlickr. And I'll leave with another funny sign I spotted at a garage/petrol station a couple of months ago, offering sage advice for the new year ahead. Have fun in 2007, boys and girls!