New Year's in Japan

Cardy: J.Crew (similar); Necklace: J.Crew Factory; Top: Urban (similar);
Skirt: Majestic Legion; Shoes: Uniqlo 

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful time ringing in 2012. Matt and I had a really chill New Year's Eve... started it off by doing a bit of shopping, and then went home early. I know, not the most exciting way to spend New Year's in Tokyo, but we didn't want to miss the last train back! 

New Year's in Japan is the biggest holiday of the year. It's been really, really fun to experience what happens. For example, most people visit shrines and eat really special New Year's foods. Kids get otoshidama, or gifts of money. Everyone also sends out cards to friends, family, co-workers, business partners, etc to wish them a happy New Year. My favorite tradition I've seen is the fukubukuro, or lucky bag. Basically, on the 1st or 2nd (whenever stores re-open), stores sell big bags of merchandise that are worth way more than what they sell them for. For example, at a clothing store you can buy a big bag of clothes for $50, and the value of the items may be $100-200 or even more. The catch is that they are sealed, so you have no idea what is in them. I loved walking around and seeing everyone and their huge bags of stuff! I wanted to stop all of them and see what was in their bags.

We also learned a very valuable lesson about New Year's in Japan. Did you know that Japan is a cash-based country? It's rare for any stores or restaurants to accept credit cards and debit cards. Everyone carries around loads of cash with them. Not very convenient for us Americans who are used to swiping a debit card anywhere at any time. Anyway, another thing to note is that ATMs have working hours, and they stop working on holidays. Well, in Japan, the New Year's holiday expands from Jan. 1-3 for banks... Which means, no way to access your bank account for a few days. Matt and I were not so knowledgeable about this, and therefore we have been spending the past two days doing basically nothing. So, folks - if you ever live in Japan, make sure to pull out LOTS of money on New Year's Eve so that you have lots to spend on lucky bags. (I shed a tear because I wasn't able to do that... darn ATMs!) 

Whew, this is a long post. I usually like to limit my posts to a few sentences, because if you're like me, you have a short attention span and just look at photos (shhh). This outfit was worn a few days before Christmas back in rural countryside Japan, where it was snowing. I quite liked this combination of colors. I think I'll need to buy more fun colors and prints in 2012...