Value Village ／ Everyday know-how
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New Year is Japan's most important holiday — quieter than Christmas abroad, more consequential than the calendar suggests. Visitors expecting fireworks and parties find closed shops and families at home, and miss what is actually happening.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Late December | Year-end clean (ōsōji), nengajō (New Year cards) posted to arrive on 1 January, decorations up (kadomatsu pines at the door, kagami-mochi rice cakes, shimekazari rope) |
| 31 December (Ōmisoka) | Toshikoshi soba (buckwheat noodles: long life, and easily cut ties with the old year); temple bells rung 108 times at midnight (joya no kane) |
| 1–3 January (Sanganichi) | Hatsumōde (first shrine/temple visit; Meiji Shrine receives about 3 million visitors); osechi and ozōni (mochi soup); otoshidama (money gifts to children); many businesses closed |
| 7 January | Nanakusa-gayu (seven-herb porridge) to rest the stomach; decorations come down (some regions 15 January) |
| 11 January | Kagami-biraki: the display mochi is broken and eaten |
[Verify] Nengajō figures with Japan Post; hatsumōde attendance with shrine announcements; mochi incident figures with the Tokyo Fire Department's annual warning.
The eve is quiet: soba, television, a temple bell. The day itself is what matters, and it belongs to family and the shrine.
Department stores and chains now open on 1 or 2 January for the New Year sales and fukubukuro (lucky bags). Small shops, banks and government offices close roughly 29 December to 3 January. Convenience stores never close.
It is three days of cold food, eaten a little at a time. Modern households buy it from department stores (¥10,000–50,000 a box) and supplement with hot dishes.
Nengajō are not sent to a household in mourning (they send a mochū notice in advance). Cards arriving after 7 January are sent as kanchū-omimai (midwinter greetings) instead.
Mochi is soft, sticky and dense, and the leading cause of New Year choking deaths among the elderly. The public guidance: cut it small, eat it slowly, and never leave an older person eating mochi alone.
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https://www.post.japanpost.jp/
https://www.tfd.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/
https://www.bunka.go.jp/english/
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
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