Bringing in the year of the horse

I first came to Japan for the year of the rabbit. That was three years ago. Since then I have seen the dragon, the snake and now the horse. I joke that maybe that’s the real reason I stayed in Japan because I couldn’t leave before seeing the horse. While now here it is! Happy year of the horse.

Nikki arrived just in time. I picked her up at Takao station late one December evening after she’d managed the trains all by herself! We met up and I whisked her back to Fujiyoshida where I gave her a day or two to recover and then the festivities began. For New Year’s we went to Laura’s to celebrate with Sheena and Ken. We ate hot pot and appetizers before sending Ken on a soba run as it’s lucky to eat (and finish) soba new noodles on the last day of the year. Despite eating so much, Laura and I managed to eat them in time as we watched kohaku. Finally it was time for the countdown. We popped streamers, sang Auld Lang Syne in Japanese and walked back home. It was all great fun.

The next morning was brilliantly sunny with a brisk chill but still Nikki and I bundled up and went down to my favourite little shrine for hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the year. It was a smaller turn-out, than I’d witnessed in previous years, as it is a less popular shrine but that’s what gave it the homey feeling and I even ran into one of my teachers. After tossing my charms and arrow from last year in the fire, I purified prayed and wished for a good year. It wasn’t until later at Fuji Sengon shrine that I bought my new arrow though. There they had the cutest horses ever and I gushed over all of them before settling on taking more pictures than souvenirs home with me.

A few days later we drove to Minobu so we could celebrate another tradition. This time a tradition that I came up with. I first visited Minobu my very first year when I came here with Rhee. We had found the amazing little village quite by accident. Since then I’ve gone back at least once a year and collected the tiny statues they sell of the zodiac animals. After climbing the three hundred huge stairs, I went inside to meditate on the cool tatami before the golden altar. Only when we were back down the stairs did I allow myself to purchase my little horse trinket. And so I’ve finished the collection I’ll obtain while living here. I have one third of the zodiac now! Maybe I’ll have to come again to finish the set!

As the New year’s celebrations came to an end and 2014 had officially begun Nikki and I set our sights afar. We wanted to go north to Sendai and south to Sekigahara.