Ringing in the New Year

Guest Post by Daniela

There are many ways to celebrate New Year's. This year we celebrated it the Japanese way--with millions of other Japanese--in Kyoto. By dumb luck and a lot of persistence we managed to get seats on the Shinkansen to Kyoto. With some more luck, a map, and help from a few strangers we managed to find our Ryokan (a traditional Japanese Inn--shoes off, yukata (robe) on, tatami mats underfoot, and green tea sipped sitting on the floor around a low table) where we stayed for 4 luxurious nights.

Looking into our Ryokan

Trying on the Yukata

Tea Time on the floor

What struck me most about Kyoto was how quiet it could be. In a garden, or a shrine, or the empty street in the morning there is a peaceful stillness and silence that was more powerful than any silence I've ever experienced before. Tokyo also manages to be amazingly quiet in some places (the surprise gardens you stumble upon with their bare trees, and low grey winter light), but Tokyo has the disadvantage of being a metropolis, so the quiet just isn't as serene. I worked out early in the peaceful morning at a barren park across the street from our Ryokan. My music was on the lowest setting above mute because the silence in the city was so thick. And as I did my lunges and push ups, a few snow flurries settled down on my gloves. It was magical.

Kanon watching over the silence

But to balance the moments of silence, Kyoto at New Year's is the most crowded place I have ever been. Literally millions of Japanese flock to the temples here during the first 3 days of the new year (year of the snake!) to pray at the temples and shrines. We were some of the few Gaijin amongst the throngs of Japanese.

The Crowds Never Stopped

A temple is a Buddhist place of worship and a Shrine is a Shinto place of worship. The the religions mesh together well and people practice both. What I like best about their traditions is that prayer is very active--you wash your hands, toss a coin, clap your hands, ring a bell, and bow. You walk through thousands of Torii Gates. You waft incense over your head and rub it on places that need healing. You dress up in your nicest kimono and wear two-toed socks with extremely-hard-to-walk-in flip flops. You buy fortunes and if they are good you take them home, but if they are bad, you tie them to a tree, a rope, a fence and leave them there. You rub different statues for health and healing. You circumambulate prayer stones.

Rub the Heads of Nene and Hiroshi for a Happy Marraige

Put on your best Kimono

Walk from one love stone to the other (about 15m) with your eyes closed to find love

Write your troubles on the paper and let them disappear in the water

Ring the bell

Burn Incense 

Leave your bad fortune behind

Ring a larger bell

Pass through the Torii Gates

Feed/pet the deer (messengers to God)

Visit Buddha

Kneel down and take a moment to reflect

Wash your hands and mouth

Visit the beautiful Temples and Shrines

And when you get hungry or tired of being devout you can visit the hundreds of food stalls that pop up right outside the temples and shrines serving octopus balls, fried noodles, cakes, chocolate dipped bananas, questionably fishy things, and mochi on a stick. Or like us, you can pop into any nearby convenience store and stock up on some chocolate.

Fish Snack Anyone?

The apex of the celebration on New Year's Eve is the famous ringing of the Chion-in bell. It takes 17 monks a number of hours to ring the bell the hallowed 108 times to symbolize the 108 human sins and get rid of these 108 worldly desires. Without really knowing what we were getting into, we got into line and just barely made the cut-off of the crowds of people that snaked through the complex and got to pass the bell and watch it be rung a couple of times before moving on for the next group. Lucky for you, here is a video.