Hello friends! I moved to Japan this year and have been loving it.
I have family visiting in a couple of weeks from the USA and China and we are planning our itinerary. I have been told around New Years Eve and the first couple days of the year many stores, restaurants and venues are closed.
Does anyone have suggestions on places to take a bunch of tourists to spend time at that time of year? We’re also planning to do a birthday celebration for one of the cousins – he is stereotypically very much a fan of Japanese food and anime.
If it’s helpful we will be staying in the Sumida area.
Any help is much appreciated
6 comments
Any of the big shrines near you would be great the first few days of the new year. Hatsumode will make things busy but it’s a great time to enjoy a cultural activity with your family. Picking an omikuji, making a wish for the new year, eating everything from the yatai. I love hatsumode. Also hatsuuri if you like shopping, there are a lot of deals going on and fukubukuro could be fun to try.
Skytree in Sumida has Hatsuhinode (first sunrise of the new year viewing) – you probably have to book though. Google it.
Shrines and temples are the traditional places to go on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. A lot of places close early on New Year’s Eve and don’t open again until after the New Year’s holiday. You’ll just have to check the holiday schedule for the places that interest you in Sumida to find out what will be open and what won’t during the holiday.
What, the traditional foreigner activity of drinking strong zeros on the combini curb till you puke in the new year is too good for you?
How about some nice dinner, and then head to karaoke after? You can do your own NY countdown, and have family members sing their favorites (the English song catalog is usually massive!). And there are even flat-rate options for singing until the morning hours (including all you can drink booze, if you like). Karaoke is very much Japanese (while not at new year’s eve, though), you can celebrate your cousin’s birthday, maybe even eat cake there.
Depending on your vigor, you could even stay up till sunrise and watch that outside – but it’s overrated in my opinion. It’s just a sunrise. And it’s bright.
Definitely not for everyone, but if you live in the Kanto region, and people like to walk, there’s [Seven Lucky God Pilgrimages](https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/sightseeing/shichifukujin-meguri-7-lucky-gods-pilgrimage/) which is a walk between 7 different shrines in an area to receive a stamp of each god on a placard.
I’ve done about half a dozen different ones over the years.