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It would be nice to say that the two-word phrase 'Akemashite omedetou' (あけまして おめでとう) is how to say 'Happy New Year' in Japanese, but unfortunately, Japanese is not that simple. Another way to say it is the three-word phrase 'Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu' (あけまして おめでとう ございます) which includes the third word 'gozaimasu' (ございます). This word ございます just means "is" but it is very formal and honorific. It is used in very formal situations, such as saying 'Happy New Year' to a person's boss at work. Watch at 4:09 as the Japanese woman pronounces あけまして おめでとう ございます.

In addition, there are a number of other phrases that can be used at New Years in Japan. Watch the video for these other phrases.

 
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In the previous video, at 4:19, we hear the sentence "Rainen mo yoroshiku onegai shimasu" (らいねん も よろしく おねがい します) (来年も宜しくお願いします。). It is loosely translated as "Looking forward to the new year."

It's time to tackle the difficult task of translating the Japanese word yoroshiku (よろしく) (宜しく) into English. (Do not accent the third syllable [yo • ro • SHI • ku], accent the second syllable [yo • RO • shi • ku].)

The first meaning of よろしく is used when meeting someone for the first time. At such a time it is common to say "Hajimemashite yoroshiku onegaimasu" (はじめまして よろしく おねがいします) (初めまして宜しくお願いします). The whole sentence is usually translated as "Nice to meet you."

A little explanation: The word はじめまして by itself means "Nice to meet you (for the first time)" so the rest of the sentence seems unnecessary, but Japanese is a very ritualistic language. By ritualistic I mean that in certain situations we respond with certain phrases or sentences even if they seem unnecessary. Just think of this use of よろしく as not much more than a word that is used ritualistically when meeting someone for the first time.

Watch this video from 1:04 and listen as several people verbally greet everyone in the group for the first time. They all say, "Hajimemashite. [My name] desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu." ("My name is xxx, nice to meet you.")

 
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The sentence "Yoroshiku onegai shimasu" (よろしく おねがい します) (宜しくお願いします) has other meanings besides "Nice to meet you." It can be translated very loosely as "I am looking forward to working together with you in happy cooperation." This is something we just don't say in English but it is quite often said in Japanese. Let's take a look at the following to see how よろしく おねがい します can be translated into English. Watch this video (mostly in Japanese only, with a little English here and there) as an English teacher is teaching English to Japanese speakers and see the many ways she translates よろしく おねがい します into English.

(Being the newest person to be hired at a place of employment or to join a group within the company)
I am looking forward to working with you.
I am looking forward to joining the company
I am looking forward to being part of the team.
We look forward to doing business with you.

(Greeting someone who has just arrived at a meeting at work)
Thank you very much for coming.

(The person who just arrived at the meeting)
Thank you for having me.

(Greeting the person who just arrived)
It's our pleasure.
I appreciate you coming.
I appreciate you taking the time to meet with us.

(Talking to a friend, or an employee of 'lesser rank' at work)
よろしく (only one word).
Thanks. (often paired with goodbye as in よろしく、バイバイ。)

(Asking a friend or an employee of 'lesser rank' to do something)
Thank you for doing this.
I'm counting on you.
I knew I could count on you.

(The lady actually has more phrases, some of which were left out here for brevity.)

 
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The sentence "Yoroshiku onegai shimasu" (よろしく おねがい します) (宜しくお願いします) has the meaning of, "I am looking forward to you cooperating with me and doing something for me, and I want to thank you in advance for what you are about to do for me." In other words, it means, "Please do xxx for me." Watch the following video from 15:29. The woman says, " (The sentence is first spoken in Japanese with no English subtitles, but then the corresponding English sentence is shown at the bottom of the screen.

(お皿洗っているおいで！宜しく。バイバイ。) (おさら あらって おいで！よろしく。バイバイ。) "Seike, can you do the dishes? Bye."

 
Japanese has a special word for the last day of the year (Dec 31st ). It is called Oomisoka (おおみそか) (大晦日).

 
Don't say Happy New Year (Akemashite omedetou) (あけましておめでとう) until January first. During December say (yoi otoshi o) (よいおとしを).

 
New Years decorations are an important part of Japanese New Years. In this video, Shogo-san the sword practitioner tells us about them. (He also gives a lot of information on the folk tales that go along with these decorations.)

At 1:55, a pine and bamboo outdoor decoration, placed near the front door, called Kadomatsu (かどまつ) (門松).

At 2:32, a decoration placed on the front door or hanging from the eaves above the front door is the shimekazari (しめかざり) (しめ飾り).

At 3:14, 'mochi' rice cakes with a small mikan (Mandarin orange) on top. This is called kagamimochi (かがみもち) (鏡餅).

 
In this video, starting at 0:11, we see an outdoor pine and bamboo Japanese New Year decoration called Kadomatsu (かどまつ) (門松). (It looks rather heavy and I wouldn't want to try and pick it up.)

At 4:06 we see a decoration called shimekazari (しめかざり) (しめ飾り). The idea with this decoration is that it is above the entrance, and it is high enough so that people can walk under it as they enter the building.

We can see another 門松 and しめ飾り at 6:16.

We can see mochi (もち) displayed as part of a しめ飾り at 10:26 and 11:13.

More decorations at 11:16, 16:49, 19:42, 22:24, 24:35, 29:5, 31:40, 38:34, and 44:12.

Check out the New Year decorations for sale at 34:30.

 
I have mentioned mochi (もち) (餅) before, but it is a good idea to take a closer look. Mochi is a special, sticky kind of rice that is pounded, removing all of the air from between the grains of rice. It becomes a solid piece of rice. Take a look at 1:42 at store-bought mochi and notice how solid and hard it is. (It's almost like a brick of solid rice. I think home-made mochi is not this hard.) Take a look at grilled mochi at 1:59 and fried mochi at 3:21.

 
I don't want to give everyone the impression that mochi is hard as a rock. When cooked, it becomes soft and stringy. Watch as this young lady eats cooked mochi at 2:55. Notice how stringy it is. (And notice at 5:28 how she is sitting seiza-style.)

 
Mochi is made by pounding a special type of rice into a solid mass. Mochi-pounding is called mochtsuki (もちつき) (餅つき). This is a fun Japanese New Year's custom that can be seen in various parts of Japan. Large wooden mallets and a special 'pounding bowl' are used. Watch these guys do some serious mochi-pounding. (The wooden mallets remind me of croquet mallets haha.)


Take a look at the high level of timing and teamwork required. (The guy closest to the camera does an amazing job of dunking his mallet in water while not breaking cadence.) By the way, take a look at the people watching from outside the window on the left side..

 
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This video is a close-up of the previous video. Watch some extreme (and dangerous) mochi pounding! (Would you be willing to put your hand in there like that? I don't think I would.)

By the way, at the end of the previous video, people can now line up and buy the mochi, right at the shop window. Talk about fresh! (At least 14 people are outside the shop, watching and probably getting ready to buy super-fresh 'home-made' mochi.)

 
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For those of you who are outside Japan and may not know, Tokyo has been getting snow recently

This is a video of snow in a Tokyo neighborhood called Shibuya.


Here is snow at Tokyo Train Station.

 
Want to make your own mochi, but don't want to endure rigorous exercise? Not to worry, mechanization comes to the rescue: a mochi-making machine. Watch this video.


In this video at 2:53 you can see two different brands of mochi-making machine at work (Zojirushi brand and Tiger brand).

 
Mochi is not made only in Japan, it's made in Hawaii too (by Japanese-Americans, or as they prefer to be called, AJA's -- Americans of Japanese Ancestry). Mochi in Hawaii is a bit different than mochi in Japan. In this video, you can see how they make 'mochi balls' with a portion of fruit inside a ball of thin mochi layer. (I do not remember ever seeing such mochi in Japan.) Look at the pretty blue, pink, yellow, etc. fruit-flavored 'mochi balls' at 0:23.

From 2:16 take a look at strawberry-stuffed mochi, lilikoi (passion fruit)-stuffed mochi, etc. Oishii so! (Looks good!) Look at the gorgeous plate of various flavored mochi at 2:29.

(I also like this video because the lady speaks in the clearly recognizable accent of the English language spoken only by Japanese-Americans in Hawaii.)

 
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How about having some mochi ice cream? Take a look at this video from a neighborhood called Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, California, USA.


Watch this guy make his own home-made mochi ice cream from 1:08. (I like his clever use of egg cartons.) He makes his own mochi, but not by pounding it, which I find fascinating.

 
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One New Year's custom is to eat a soup containing mochi. (I guess we could call it mochi soup but it is called zoni.) The soup is called zoni or ozoni. ('Ozoni' means 'honorable zoni'.)

Zoni actually contains several other ingredients besides mochi. Watch as Chika-sensei make ozoni.

 
Japan has special food for New Years, and this food is called sechi.

sechi (せち) Japanese New Year's food

osechi (おせち) 'honorable' Japanese New Year's food

ryori (りょうり) (料理) cuisine, e.g. Japanese cuisine

osechi ryori (おせち りょうり) (おせち料理) 'honorable' Japanese New Year's cuisine


Chika-sensei tells us at 3:53 that many people buy osechi at a store, restaurant, etc. (It is just a fact of life in Japan that the older generation women make osechi at home but the younger women don't have time for it -- they prefer to go out and buy it instead, just as Chika does. I see this as a positive step in the slow disappearance of male chauvinism in Japan.)

An important thing to note is how osechi comes in three boxes, one on top of another (take a look at 4:05). Apparently, it is important which kind of food goes in which box (but I don't know for sure).

 
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I like this video because it shows the traditional three boxes of osechi food with a bowl of ozoni soup. Take a look from 0:24. (In Japanese with no English subtitles.)

The way the cook arranges the food is impressive. Arranging food on a plate is very important in Japan. (Even the title of the video is アレンジ, which is the English word "arrange" rendered into Japanese.) As I always say, "there are no tossed salads in Japan, only arranged salads."

 
Buntaro said:
"there are no tossed salads in Japan, only arranged salads."
Click to expand...
Even the Japanese don't say "tossed." They say ミックスサラダ (mixed salad).
 
節分 Setsubun
Thursday, February 3
Setsubun is the event held to pray for our happy and healthy life.
It is held on Feb 3th or 4th.
On that day, we throw away beans with saying "Devils out! Happiness in!"
This is called "Mame-maki" (Mame means beans, maki means throwing away.)
And people eat beans as numbers as their age.
Also we eat "Ehoumaki" that is thick sushi roll.
It is regarded as good thing to eat Ehoumaki in Setsubun.
When we eat it, we must face the year's lucky direction without speaking.
Some people decorate their house entrances with sardine heads and holly branches. They want to protect their houses from the oni.

Kyoto Festival: Bad Luck Exorcism at Heian Shrine (Setsubun-sai)
 
Another event in February is "Valentine's Day"

The beginning of Valentine's Day in Japan
・The opinion which proposed, confectionery Morozoff Ltd. of Kobe "gave it chocolate on Valentine's Day" in 1936
・The opinion that Mary chocolate Company performed "Valentine sale" at the Isetan Shinjuku head office in 1958.
・The opinion that Mornaga & Co. gave the newspaper ad of Valentine's Day in 1960.
・ 1968 The theory that Sony Plaza tried to make the gift of chocolate popular.

There are various theories, but in any case, it started with the spread by companies for commercial purposes.
It is said that in the 1970s, "to convey feelings to men who like women" became established as it is today.

日本のバレンタインデーの始まりはいつ？起源と歴史、外国との違いとは？

2月14日はバレンタインデーです。日本では、女性が好きな男性に気持ちを伝えるためにチョコレートを贈る日といわれていますが、そもそも、日本のバレンタインの始まりはいつなのでしょうか？バレンタインの起源と歴史、外国との違いについて解説します。
jpnculture.net

[Urgent] Valentine's Day Conference 2020 will be held by office ladies!

Valentine's Day crushing demo 2019 in Shibuya
 
Japan celebrates New Years on January first, but in most East Asian countries, New Years is celebrated at Lunar New Year (the new moon of the lunar calendar year, which usually occurs in late January or early February). Japan is quite unique in East Asia in not observing Lunar New Year. (Lunar New Year is also called Chinese New Year.)

By the way, many Chinese people mistakenly translate the phrase for Chinese New Year into English as "Spring Festival", just like in this video. When I went to China, I had no idea what "Spring Festival" was, until I figured out it was just Chinese New Year.)

Countries which celebrate New Years on Lunar New Year

China
Korea
Vietnam

Country which celebrate New Years on January first (Gregorian calendar)

Japan

 
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