It’s now New Year’s Eve. New Year’s is Japan’s biggest holiday.
There are many customs and decorations in Japan at this time of year.
I’ll introduce one to you:
年越しそば (Toshikoshi-soba).
Toshi-koshi-soba are noodles that are eaten on New Year’s Eve.
It is said to bring good luck for the coming year if the last thing you ate on New Year’s Eve was this dish.
よいお年を！ (Have a happy new year!)
Here is the biggest news stories of 2013 for those of us in Japan:
Were all of these news stories in your country? What was the biggest news of 2013 where you live?
今日は「冬至 (touji)」 (Today is “winter solstice”).
Click here and read the post I wrote five years ago about the Japanese traditions on this day (there are also some videos I took in a traditional area of Tokyo).
This is another three-day-weekend in Japan.
Monday, December 23rd is 「天皇誕生日」 (“The Emperor (of Japan)’s birthday”).
The Emperor will turn 80 years old on Monday!
When I participated in the 「深川八幡宮水かけ祭り」 (Fukugawa-Hachiman-gu Water-throwing Festival) in August 2012, I passed in front of the Emperor and Empress who had come to watch the festival.
In Japan, Christmas isn’t a legal holiday. It’s a regular working day.
But the Emperor’s birthday is a holiday…almost everyone has the day off.
The Emperor of Japan greets the public at the palace grounds twice a year. On his birthday and on January 2nd.
These are the only two days a year that the public are permitted into the inner palace grounds.
Every December, a Japanese kanji character is chosen as 「今年の漢字」 (“the kanji of the year”).
You can click here to read my post about last year’s (2012) kanji of the year,
click here for 2011‘s,
click here for 2010‘s,
click here for 2009‘s,
and click here for 2008‘s.
This year’s (2013) Kanji of the Year was just chosen.
It’s 「輪」 (りん(“rin“)).
It means “ring” and was chosen in honor of the Olympics rings because of Tokyo’s successful bid to host the 2020 summer Olympics.
Seventy-two years ago today, 1941 December 7th (U.S. time), the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the U.S. Navy base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
And tomorrow, 2013 December 8th, will be the thirty-third anniversary of John Lennon’s murder.
Also, the iconic Nelson Mendela died at the age of 95 the day before yesterday (2013 December 5th).
Tokyo Five 
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