僕たちのお正月

i was in japan for new years once, it was probably the most fun i ever had, didn't think new years could be that great of a event

Just to be an English Nazi: Christmas reef = no such thing. You mean wreath. Reefs have more to do with rocks and coral in the ocean than X-Mas.

phlyingpenguin,
Yikes! thanks for the correction. I loosing my English orz.

shoot...I'm male and just turned 25 :(

Happy new year Danny! Or as we say in portuguese(br): Feliz Ano Novo!

Gotta love 'em takoyakis...

I am en evil spirit. Woohhooo ph34r m3!

it's been 2 days since new year in here ^^. what day is it now in japan? 2/1/2007 ?

we don't have any celebration for new year here _T, most TV station celebrate
it, but no event so far, just some firework there and there

well your new year's went better than mine. started with heavy drinking and then people using firecrackers and then fires that threatened whole neighborhoods.Mind you the fires were started by sober people.

wow. i felt like i went on a tour reading some of those and looking at the pic @_@ and the fish that flows holy water sorta looks like a dragon ._. anyways the whole thing is awsome

wauuuu...its really interesting at how nice and good you can spend new years celebrations on japn real awsome to be done sometime...i plus in my list to do when i go to japan

i wish i could watch teevee on my DS here in singapore too...
would give me a reason to actually use mine!
but anyway s happy new year mr Danny!
glad you liked the book!

Danny, isn't there any cute shrine maidens you could take a picture of? I love miko outfit ;3 Those pictures remind me of New Year's event in Lucky Star, especially the fortune parchment LOL

My New Years was spent eating Kung Pao, spicy calamari, and drinking a lot of rum. Thereafter we all went to a friends house and started a massive fire (6ft high flames!!!), and people were chucking around sparklers.. that was before someone decided to throw a whole box in the fire.. Between the fire and the space heaters, we were fairly warm, and were feeling pretty good. Then we all played the "ask an odd question" game to see what everyone said. I now know things about my friends that I didnt want to know... ever. Then someone complained about being cold so we all went inside at 3am and fell asleep. Hooray!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I'll be mine,
And we'll tak a cup o kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou'd the gowans fine,
But we've wander'd monie a weary fit,
Sin auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin auld lang syne.

And there's a hand my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o thine,
And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught,
For auld lang syne

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE! Dont screw this one up!! That goes for you Fat Bastard!

Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki!!! If I'm in Japan I'll be eating it everyday.

no jokes here, but that "fish" looks capable of chowing down a shark.
after watching evangelion, i'll believe in ANYTHING, not just evil spirits.

Sounds like you had a better time than I did- I sat around and ate a bit and watched about 5 minutes of fireworks on TV that were going off at our closest major "major" city- Philadelphia. I worked on my models a lot and really didn't talk to my parents much- my sister had a party in the basement with 7 other peeps.

Yes evil spirits exist- and there are good ones too. I found some of those traditions "odd", however there is a cultural difference here and I would totally respect rituals/customs that ring in the New Year in Japan. There is one thing I cannot do though when visiting a shring like this- I cannot offer a prayer or clap my hands. I understand the thought behind it and I think it is awesome-but I cannot do it for religious reasons- even if it means my arse gets booted from the area or I get mobbed. I don't mind watching others do it, though.

This is something I have always wanted to do Danny- maybe next time I need to come to Japan for New Years! Looks a lot more fun than me sitting around. I had fun building my models though.

"Despite the amount of people who gather at the shrines, the new year passes without incident."

Lol. In France, there have been "only" 372 cars burnt, just to state the lowest estimation... But it is considered as a very quiet New Year Eve.
But you see, France is very cold at this period of time so one need some fire to warm up ! Nah kidding, people do so either as a rebelion act, or for insurrance fraud or just for the tradition...

In Singapore though, it was rather quiet as far as I know. Maybe because it is too hot ^^

Anyway, happy new year to all !

Isn't the 1st of January a public holiday in Japan? I'm asking since you mention working on new years, or did you work the day after?

Spent a nice and hot new year on a farm out in the countryside around a bonfire watching the stars.

Pardon me for being an English Nazi as well but "Depending on when you was born" should be "were" and "People who where in for a bad year" should be "were".

No Hanabi at your festival danny?

I simply spend new year every year with a get together with friends, a countdown, champagne, and a tonne of mindless games on the Wii. Only places where people gather on new year in SA are clubs, which really aren't for me ~-~

Heh, Fauna is Danny's favorite. I was going to buy the figure too.

there's lot of rubbish left behind too =/

Evil spirits.. I kind of doubt on them.. as long as I don't meet them, it's fine. I'll probably go KYAA~ and my own soul will float out of my mouth instead.

I'm hungry ='(

a snake bell will probably looks like one of your favourite topic ;P

Happy new year Danny and wife! :D

How's the reliability of the DS' 1Seg? I heard in general 1Seg is somewhat unreliable(such as loosing the signal when moving, ect.).

Filipinos has the belief in Feng Shui ^^

that means that yes we believe in evil spirits and good luck ^^

Nodame is awesome lol, the live action did a pretty good job of copying the anime. I actually tried the shooting booth while in Japan at this festival in Osaka, I hit the boxes but they didn't fall down lol...I think it was rigged ^^.

Aw~ I'd really love to visit a shrine too.. But I can't, because firstly, I don't know where to find them over here, and secondly- my family would NEVER allow it. ='(

i do ever go to the shrine, the lucky star ep22 1, forgot the name
it is beautiful, and would like to go there again(since the 1st time i go, i don't understand anything)
takoyaki there taste suge

LOL Danny, their "tradiotional" games looks really suspicious... The Wii and the playstation... Wow, really tradiotional...
But it sure look like alot of fun, did you enjoy yourself Danny?

Now i almost fell over when i saw Chiaki on your NDS. Nodame is love... totaly... can't get enough. I saw the anime first, then friends did point me to the dorama... hell... i did laugh tears and Chiaki is such a cutie. :D

I have seen some festivals in japan now, tried to get them all but i never even did think about new years eve... might worth a shot.
It seems better then geting drunk with friends and freezing my feet numb while watching some idiots burn their fingers. ^o^ Though lucky, this year i was (still am) stomatch sick, so hogging my computer with tea and zwieback (brussels biscuit?).

Feeling hungry after watching picture of the foods...looks like I will be eating Japanese tonight ^^

me throw in money, clap twice, say a prayer and wish to meet the 2D girl of my dreams so that i can get married early. ('~')

wait, Male and going to be 25...

Aw hell. Guess my Mate was right when he looked at the chinese horoscopes and told me that I was going to have a crappy year...
Good thing I don't really pay attention to those things then!!

My mother have many amulets and stuff like that in the house, some even on my bedroom, side with my figures and mangas,(she is like a witch, but in the good way)but i don`t really belive in these things. Well, only a little...

Waaah Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki... I'm hungry now...
... ok I admit that I smiled a bit when I read "fried octopus balls"... sorry... -_-);

Wow! Japanese New Year seems really awesome! I wish I could visit Japan at New Year's instead of going this summer = =

I don't believe in evil spirits, but I do believe in the trouser snake.

i'll be hounded by evil spirits and bad luck oh Sh*&! this is worst than i thought hehe well i don't believe in evil spirits but i do believe in bad luck, anyway i'm always trying not to XD. damn!! that Okonomiyaki looks really good (drooling) i've never tasted it i only know about it cuz it's always mentioned in manga, but thanx to you Danny this is the 1st time i've seen a real picture of the Okonomiyaki ^^!

It would be awesome to buy a fortune parchment! Especielly to buy a good one, heh.

Oh my talking about bad spirit/s...

Last year when i was in a shrine at Kumamoto,Japan, i clapped 3 times in a roll as opposed to 2 when one is suppose to ring the bell to call forth the god (or something along that line).

Right after my 3rd clap, i swore by saying sh** cause i suddenly realize i made a mistake in over-clapping. And then the fun began.

Right after coming back from Japan, i got a whole streak of bad luck like 1) Well this happened over in Japan but was chased for a fine 15 mins by a bee near a river, 2) Fell down in a drain and got a deep cut, 3) Handphone went haywire and sent messages out by itself and 4) UV filter of loaned Eos 20D broke for no reason even though the lens was capped.

Went straight to a Chinese temple over here and prayed. Since then not much of a bad luck. So a word of advisor, don't swear in shrines, regardless of languages.=x

And a Happy New Year to you too danny!

Only you could make me laugh when talking about the new year.

Look like a dragon if you ask me, the videogames and accessories are for sale and the candies are the prizes, or is that you win empty boxes? lol.

For the snake, I think a curled-up version would work, with the bell at the tip of the tail... Maybe?

*Looks

By the way, I'm glad that I am not to suffer from curses this year.
*Laughs madly*

I went down to a shrine around new years a couple of years ago. It was a week after new years and there were still quite a few people. Pretty surprising. It was much the same as your pictures show, Danny, but I also remember seeing a big sign informing people of who will be suffering from yakidoshi (year of calamity) in the coming year. Always a few people looking at the thing with gloomy expressions on their faces. :p

Makanator,
Good that you are still alive ^^;

Lostandfound,
Had a great time.

NPC,
Can be bad at times but I just leave it on the desk and its fine.

Phenie,
No fireworks where I was.

Wolfblitz,
It is for many offices. Most retail stores open though. I chose to work - too much to do ^^;

Dedale,
Lord!

Rikku,
I was disappointed that there was no Miko too.

Tragic comedy,
The book was great!

interesting~ Hope you have a wonderful 2008!

A Greek friend of mine pulled out a bottle of ouzo on New Years Eve. Now, that right there is some evil spirits, let me tell you.

akemashite omdetou minna

a late Ake Ome...

Honestly though, after the last day of Comiket, my energy got drained so much, that I did not feel like going to any shrine that day. However, I did go to Meiji Shrine, which in my opinion, was not worth it for the crowd.....

Anyway, hope this year brings me good luck...

Happy new year to japanese.

haha never knew you could watch tv on a DS

Happy New Years Danny, wife and staff of Mirai Inc. Thank you very much for going out into the sea of humanity to experience and get photos of a new years shrine visit!

Tako Yaki!? Sounds so good but I don't want to try it!

Awe that looks so cool! i wish i was there now!!
"Its not only China that uses Disneys intellectual property without permission." ---LMAO SO HARD!!! XD

"It's a losers' union," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, a manager at SMBC Friend Securities. "Despite some cost cut impact, it's doubtful if they can beat their international rivals even as a team. The domestic chip industry appears on the brink of death."

This is scrupulously prepared revenge as it was promised for them in Russia...

They should be accurate in their hidden wishes and habits.

MARVELOUS!!!!

kyaa~~ I wish i can celebrate Japanese new year ^_^ from the looks of these pics its sure looks like fun ^_^