I found this perfect greeting poster on a closed door of a restaurant that tells they are closed for New Year until they open again on the 5th of Jan. 2012. KIRIN is a name of a Japanese beverage company and I think this poster was provided by KIRIN beer or something. (So you now know it’s not I that made this poster, hehe! 
)
As you can see, it’s common in Japan to have some holiday after the New Year’s Day, while we are mostly working on Christmas unless it’s on weekend.
If you are learning Japanese, you may know “あけまして (Akemashite) おめでとう(Omedetou) ございます(Gozaimasu)” which means “Happy New Year.” (In a casual way, you can omit “Gozaimasu”, and say, “Akemashite Omedetou”.) It can be used both in speaking and writing. On the other hand, 謹賀新年 (Kinga Shin-nen) is a very formal way of expressing Happy New Year and it may be only found in writing and we don’t usually use this at an oral conversation. It’s often found in Nengajo (New Year’s greeting cards) as well.
Year after year, New Year has become nothing particular. In my childhood, there was a mood that all the stores except convenience stores in my neighbor were going to be closed after Christmas (from around 28th) till 5, 6 or 7th of January. But as I grew up and frequent big cities such as Tokyo, Kawasaki or Yokohama, they are totally open almost all during this period, and even including the New Year’s Day at some places.
I think most of us who do not spend too much time at the relative’s or the parents’ or at travel destinations are rather bored in New Year if stores are all closed. (Air tickets and hotels can be double priced in this season and Golden Week in May, so they are the last period that I love to travel.) Also it’s a big chance for the shopping malls to increase sales in this period. Supply and demand matches. ^ ^ In fact, some of the shopping malls open even earlier than normal schedule (usually they open from 11am). It’s a New Year’s sale and Fukubukuro, or lucky grab bags are available only this New Year period in the year.
As for myself, I loved to go to New Year’s sale a few years ago. But for a moment I don’t desperately need more clothes or shoes or bag. I have so many other things that I want to do at home. Some books to read, house cleaning (I’m supposed to finish it before New Year’s Day, according to our custom, though :p), A friend to invite to our house, playing Koto (Japanese musical instrument), and etc. I hope that I can make a better Koto playing video in this coming New Year and share it with you in the next post. 
Oh, as for myself, I don’t really like New Year’s cuisine and so I don’t pay much attention to each dish’s meaning such as longevity or whatever. I don’t like Nengajo (New Year’s greeting cards) either, because I’m not interested in superficial friendship that is only maintained through exchanging this thing only once a year. If it’s a true friendship, why can’t she email me, or skype with me more often throughout the year instead of sending a card automatically with a simple message “Wish to see you this year!” every single year without even trying to contact me if we can see each other? I once emailed immediately to ask such people, “so when can we see then?” and the answer was quite vague or somewhat they cannot go out because their kids are too small, or whatsoever. I don’t want such friendship. I’ve ignored many Nengajo like this. I don’t care about diplomatic friendship, that’s just nothing to me. I’m telling my friends not to send me a card but to contact me more often throughout the year, and gradually I receive only a few of them today. I may be very different from most of other Japanese people, because usually people love to exchange Nengajo a lot. lol
Anyhow, it’s the last day of 2011.
I wish you all a happy, prosperous new year and I hope to keep interacting with you in TKE blog or by exchanging emails, and etc.
Thank you for reading TKE and your friendship with me.
Posted by: kirin on 
May 13th, 2012 | 
Filed under: Announcement & Info.
Comments (8) 
I guess I’ve never been away from her so long and I’m too much attached to her in everyday’s life. I’ve told her over and over again that I will come back about a month later and I am always thinking about her even if we are apart. I believe she understands that.
