Well another year has come to an end. We at J-List would like to thank our wonderful customers all over the world for making this our best year yet, and for helping advance our plot to cover the Earth in Sailor Moon figures, Japanese Kit Kat and shimapan!
Happy New Year and akemashite omedetou from the entire J-List staff!
One big cultural difference between Japan and the U.S. is that the roles of Christmas and New Year’s Eve are reversed: in the U.S. Christmas is usually a quiet, solemn event spent with family, but it’s a fun excuse for a loud party complete with firecrackers here in Japan. Similarly, while the countdown to a new year is a loud and exciting time in the U.S., here it’s common to stay home and watch the Kouhaku year-end JPOP concert while eating 年越しそば toshi-koshi soba or “crossing into the new year noodles,” which are said to make you live longer. While my family is usually together as we cross into the new year, this year my son will be out with friends at a “countdown live” concert held by fripSide, the anime band that sings the A Certain Scientific Railgun songs, the lucky guy. The way to wish someone a Happy New Year in Japanese while it’s still December is よいお年を yoi o-toshi o which means “[please have a] good crossing into the New Year.” Once January 1st arrives, you greet people formally using 開けましておめでとう akemashite omedetou, which translates as “congratulations for opening a New Year,” or just “Happy New Year” if you want to be less literal.
We’re ready to cross into a new year, Japan-style. Thanks for an awesome 2013!
