{"id":908,"date":"2012-01-02T14:52:53","date_gmt":"2012-01-02T22:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/walking-ixus.net\/blog\/?p=908"},"modified":"2012-04-15T14:57:17","modified_gmt":"2012-04-15T22:57:17","slug":"%e6%9d%b1%e4%ba%ac%e3%81%8b%e3%82%89%e6%96%b0%e5%b9%b4%e3%81%82%e3%81%91%e3%81%be%e3%81%97%e3%81%a6%e3%81%8a%e3%82%81%e3%81%a7%e3%81%a8%e3%81%86%e3%81%94%e3%81%96%e3%81%84%e3%81%be%e3%81%99%ef%bc%81","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/walking-ixus.net\/blog\/%e6%9d%b1%e4%ba%ac%e3%81%8b%e3%82%89%e6%96%b0%e5%b9%b4%e3%81%82%e3%81%91%e3%81%be%e3%81%97%e3%81%a6%e3%81%8a%e3%82%81%e3%81%a7%e3%81%a8%e3%81%86%e3%81%94%e3%81%96%e3%81%84%e3%81%be%e3%81%99%ef%bc%81\/","title":{"rendered":"\u6771\u4eac\u304b\u3089\u65b0\u5e74\u3042\u3051\u307e\u3057\u3066\u304a\u3081\u3067\u3068\u3046\u3054\u3056\u3044\u307e\u3059\uff01"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the second year in a row, I found myself in Tokyo for New Year’s.\u00a0 Unlike most of the world, where New Year’s Eve is another excuse to get smashed and celebrate loudly, New Year’s in Japan is pretty much the exact opposite of that, with family time taking priority over debauchery.\u00a0 As a result, many people in Japan “go home” and stay in over New Year’s, filling family obligations before connecting with friends and visitors.\u00a0 Most restaurants and businesses close early (by 1600) if they’re open at all.\u00a0 A lot of businesses take several days off during the New Year’s holiday, so if you’re doing your first Japan visit during this time, you will find that a lot of businesses and attractions will be closed.<\/p>\n

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NYE schedule for the Oedo Line<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New Year’s is also unique in that this is the only day of the year when the trains (JR, Eidan<\/a> and Toei) run all night.\u00a0 Granted it’s a abbreviated schedule, but at least they’re running.\u00a0 If you find yourself out that evening, take a picture of the schedule that’s posted so you don’t come back to the station and have to wait for an hour for the next train back.<\/p>\n

One tradition that visitors can partake in is hatsumode (\u521d\u8a63), the first shrine visit of the new year.\u00a0 The way to think about the new year is that it’s an opportunity to wipe the slate clean.\u00a0 Pay your debts and make amends for the past year and make wishes and pray for a good new year.\u00a0 Many of the major shrines in Tokyo get slammed over the first days of the new year as practically everyone is off work. Meiji-Jingu in Shibuya which is probably the best known shrine had over 3 million people visit over the first three days of the year.\u00a0 Many choose to visit on New Year’s Eve night, as I’ve done the past couple of years.<\/p>\n

During my New Year’s visits, I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo (Shinjuku).\u00a0 Even though it’s overshadowed by it’s glam cousins, the Park Hyatt<\/a> and the Grand Hyatt (Roppongi), the Hyatt Regency Tokyo has a good location, the club rooms are very nice and best of all, there’s a 7-11 in the basement AND has direct underground access to Toch\u014dmae Station on the Toei Oedo Line<\/a>. The hotel had a small New Year’s celebration in the lobby with singers and free champagne to toast at the stroke at midnight.\u00a0 The entire shindig ended just short of 0030.\u00a0 When I visited the Meiji Shrine<\/a> last New Year’s, my friends and I arrived at the shrine close to 0100 and wound up queuing with 400,000 others to pay our respects.\u00a0 That took just about 3.5 hours.\u00a0 So, I thought, if I leave later, perhaps the queues won’t be as thick and I won’t be outside so long in the cold.\u00a0 At 0200, I made my way to the subway and 20 minutes later, I was at the Meiji Shrine.\u00a0 Where there was a slightly shorter queue.\u00a0 The wait was only two hours before I made it to the front.<\/p>\n