Oshogatsu (New Year) is Japan's most important holiday — a week of family gatherings, shrine visits, traditional foods, and a complete shutdown of business life. For visitors, it's one of the most atmospheric times to be in Japan, despite many attractions being closed.
The Timeline
December 30–31: Japan cleans house (osoji — great cleaning), shops sell out of traditional New Year goods. Convenience stores are stocked with osechi ryori boxes. December 31: Temple bells ring 108 times at midnight (joya no kane) — 108 represents Buddhist worldly desires. NHK's year-end music show Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red vs. White singing contest) airs. January 1–3: Oshogatsu — families gather, hatsumode shrine visits. Most businesses, government offices, and many restaurants closed. January 4–7: Gradual return to work. Streets in business districts return to normal.
Hatsumode (First Shrine Visit)
The first shrine visit of the year — Japan's most widely observed tradition. Most popular: Meiji Shrine (Tokyo): 3 million visitors in 3 days — the world's most attended New Year event. Lines are orderly but expect 1–2 hours of waiting. Naritasan Shinshoji (Chiba): 3 million visitors. Fushimi Inari (Kyoto): Continuous 24-hour crowds January 1–3. Sumiyoshi Taisha (Osaka): 2.3 million. At hatsumode: throw a coin, pray, draw an omikuji fortune, and buy good luck charms (omamori) for the new year.
New Year Foods
Osechi ryori: Traditional New Year foods packed in lacquered boxes (jubako) — each item symbolizes luck: kuromame (black beans = health), kazunoko (herring roe = fertility), datemaki (sweet rolled omelette = scholarship). Families eat these over the first three days. Otoso: Spiced sake drunk on New Year's morning. Ozoni: Mochi rice cake soup — regional variations throughout Japan (Tokyo: clear soup; Kyoto: white miso; Kanto: rectangular mochi vs. Kansai: round mochi). Soba: Toshikoshi-soba (year-crossing soba) is eaten on New Year's Eve — the long noodles symbolize a long life.
What's Open & Closed
Closed December 30–January 3: most offices, many smaller restaurants, some museums. Open throughout: convenience stores, large hotels, major department stores (from Jan 2), public transport, hospitals. January 2: Department stores hold fukubukuro (lucky bags) sales — customers pay a fixed price for a sealed bag of goods (often worth 3–5x the purchase price). Long lines form before opening.
Where to Be for New Year
Tokyo: Meiji Shrine for hatsumode, Shibuya Crossing for the midnight countdown (large informal gathering). Kyoto: Temple bell events at Chion-in (the largest temple bell in Japan, 74 tons) and Kurama Temple's fire ceremony. Okinawa: Warmest weather, smaller crowds — a different perspective on Japanese New Year.