The Japanese New Year is a very different experience when compared to the rest of the world. Instead of drunken debauchery, fireworks, champagne, and revelry, the Japanese spend this time quietly with their family eating special new years food with soba buckwheat noodles and a sticky rice cake called mochi. There is also special new years shows on TV which has traditionally focused around the Red and White song festival that battles the year’s most popular singers against each other, but more recently televised fighting has become popular with a mix of boxing, martial arts, kick-boxing, and wrestling featuring professional fighters (sometimes matched against sumo wrestlers!!), as well as public figures in the spotlight.

At Evisu, we like to spend time with our family in front of the TV flicking between the surreal acts of violence and cheesy Japanese pop stars while eating soba noodles and drinking beer and sake. At midnight we sometimes head down to the local temple which is packed with people praying and bringing in the new year. At this time of the years temples have lots of food and carnival like booths near the entrance which add a fun and festive atmosphere.

We also like to send New Years cards. 2008 is the year of the mouse or rat, and so all the cards this year feature a little rodent. The cards usually have a message like Shinnen Akemashite Omedetou-gozaimasu, which literally means “Happiness to you on the dawn of a new year“. Here are few of the cards we really loved this year from the SADA 104 Japanese greeting postcard exhibition

From everyone at Evisu we wish you a Happy New Year! Akemashite Omedetou!

• Sightseeing with Evisu at Toji Temple (1)
• Kaiten Sushi (0)
• Japanese Noodle Obsession (1)
• Experimental Fabric From Kuroki Japan (1)
• Evisu on RTL Boulevard (0)