Remember New Years? Part II:

After getting home I quickly made some soba noodles and incredibly managed to eat some. They're a traditional New Year's Eve food, meant to represent a long life. Then I bundled up and headed out into the crisp, snowy night.

My first stop was the string of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in the Higashiyama Temple District. At midnight the bells at the temples started ringing, and would continue until they'd been rung 109 times. Supposedly this is to banish the 109 'evils', and start the New Year off right.

A Buddhist priest ringing the bell. Locals are lined up to get their chance too.

I walked up the huge staircase to my favourite Shinto shrine which is located high up a hill, surrounded by towering pine trees. There was a special ceremony taking place, and a large bonfire had been lit. I stood in the glow of the fire while the priest chanted and offerings were made by serious looking men in suits. More and more people arrived, some carrying their New Years decorations from last year. Made from straw and paper, they were tossed into the fire. After the ceremony people approached the temple altar, bowed, clapped, and made their first prayers of the New Year. I did the same, and enjoyed a small cup of sake afterwards. Then I made my way back down the hill to Kokubunji Temple, my favourite Buddhist temple in the middle of town. I stood in line to ring the bell, and soon got to climb the wooden ladder up to the bell tower. I rang my first New Years bell ( I was ring number 97), was given a sugar cake in the shape of a flower, and then walked home while the final bells rang through the clear night sky.

A blazing fire outside of a Temple

Offerings for New Years

The bell tower at Kokubunji Temple

The next day I walked through town, visiting more shrines and enjoying the peace and quiet.

At a local shrine a short walk from my apartment

A lion keeping watch in the snow

Naka Bashi (aka The Red Bridge) in the snow

Walking around was also a great chance to admire the many different New Years decorations (called 'shimenawa') that people had displayed outside their homes. Some were very simple straw and paper:



Some were simple branches of greenery (my favourite):


Some were more elaborate. The one's decorated with bright red crayfish seemed to decorate the doors of shops and inns.

Some people don't stop at mere door decorations. This shop had a whole display, including one in the window: