Tag · Season

#Hatsumode & New Year

Hatsumode, the first shrine or temple visit of the Japanese New Year. Covers Tokyo spots like Meiji Jingu, Sensoji and Kawasaki Daishi, with crowd timing, all-night trains, prayer etiquette, and what to wear in early January.

6 articles

Visitors ringing a temple bell, the Joya no Kane, at midnight on New Year's Eve in Japan

Culture

Joya no Kane: Which Temples Let You Ring Japan's New Year's Eve Bell (and How to Get Home)

Oct 19, 2026

The stone bridge in front of the Imperial Palace Main Gate, with Nijubashi behind it on a clear winter day

Culture

Imperial Palace New Year Greeting 2027: Which Gate, When to Arrive, What to Bring

Oct 13, 2026

A Nozomi Shinkansen at a Tokyo Station platform beside the electronic departure board

Know-How

Year-End Shinkansen 2026–27: When Tickets Go On Sale, and the Nozomi's All-Reserved Window (Dec 25–Jan 5)

Oct 7, 2026

A convenience store lit up and open at night in Tokyo during the New Year holiday, when konbini keep running

Know-How

Is Japan Open at New Year? Shops, Banks, Trains & Shrines (Dec 31–Jan 3, 2026–27)

Sep 15, 2026

Shoppers picking up colorful sealed fukubukuro lucky bags at a Japanese department store's New Year first sale

Shopping

Fukubukuro 2027: When Japan's Lucky Bags Drop, How to Enter the Lotteries, and the New Tax-Free Rule

Sep 6, 2026

New Year worshippers filling the approach to Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo on January 1

Culture

Hatsumode in Tokyo 2027: Which Shrine, When to Go & What to Wear for the New Year Crowds

Sep 5, 2026

#Hatsumode & New Year

Joya no Kane: Which Temples Let You Ring Japan's New Year's Eve Bell (and How to Get Home)

Imperial Palace New Year Greeting 2027: Which Gate, When to Arrive, What to Bring

Year-End Shinkansen 2026–27: When Tickets Go On Sale, and the Nozomi's All-Reserved Window (Dec 25–Jan 5)

Is Japan Open at New Year? Shops, Banks, Trains & Shrines (Dec 31–Jan 3, 2026–27)

Fukubukuro 2027: When Japan's Lucky Bags Drop, How to Enter the Lotteries, and the New Tax-Free Rule

Hatsumode in Tokyo 2027: Which Shrine, When to Go & What to Wear for the New Year Crowds

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