Japanese Things People Do at the Start of the Year

A simple guide to New Year habits in Japan

In Japan, New Year isn’t only one night. It’s a slow transition: the year is closed, the air is reset, and small routines mark the first steps into the next cycle. People do these things with different levels of seriousness. Some do everything, some do only one or two. But the overall rhythm is surprisingly consistent.

Here are some of the most common things Japanese people do at the start of the year — and what they’re for.

1) Say “Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu”

This is the standard New Year greeting: “Happy New Year.” You’ll hear it in family chats, on phone calls, and in the first messages exchanged after midnight or on January 1st.

It’s not just a phrase. It’s a reset button for relationships: the first greeting of the year is a way to keep social ties warm and alive.

2) Visit a shrine or temple (Hatsumōde)

Many people do hatsumōde, the first shrine or temple visit of the year. Some go on January 1st, others go later during the first few days.

People might pray for health, safety, exams, work, or simply a calm year. They may also draw omikuji (fortunes) and buy omamori (amulets).

Even if someone isn’t “religious,” hatsumōde still makes sense as a ritual: it gives shape to the beginning.

3) Eat seasonal New Year food

New Year in Japan has its own food language.

• Osechi: special dishes arranged in boxes
• Ozōni: mochi soup, often very regional
• Toshikoshi soba: eaten around New Year’s Eve as a “year-crossing” marker

You don’t need to memorize every symbolic meaning to understand the role these foods play. They’re edible tradition: repetition, continuity, and a sense of “this is the season.”

4) Send New Year’s cards (Nengajō)

New Year’s cards, nengajō, are still common. Some people write them by hand; many now use printing services.

It’s a very Japanese kind of social care: short, formal, seasonal, and widely shared — a way of saying, “I remember you.”

5) Give otoshidama

Otoshidama is money given to children in small envelopes. It’s exciting for kids, but it’s also a social ritual: it makes family roles visible, and it marks growth year by year.

6) Watch or listen to New Year TV and music

Many households have a “New Year media routine,” whether it’s a famous year-end broadcast, a countdown program, or simply background TV while relaxing with family.

This matters because New Year is also about atmosphere. Media becomes part of the seasonal mood.

7) Set goals or make small promises (but quietly)

Japan doesn’t always do dramatic “new year, new me” declarations. Many people keep it modest: a small intention, a short plan, a simple habit they want to continue.

The cultural logic is often less about transformation and more about maintenance: staying healthy, staying steady, doing better little by little.

8) Ease back into normal life

New Year ends gradually. Decorations come down, routines return, and the season fades. That slow landing is part of what makes Japanese New Year feel different: it’s not a single fireworks moment, but a soft beginning.