Exploding stomachs and giant flying cranes....how I survived New year

あけましておめでとうございます。こつぉひもよろしく！

Welcome to 2011.A year of big changes for me, most of which will take place in less than 3 weeks! crap...must pack, must pack....

Anyway, how did I spend my New Year? Well...my friend Y invited me to her parents house for O-shogatsu Japanese style. She picked me up Friday afternoon with my Wii that she's inheriting. We set off to her parents somewhere between Shin-Sapporo and Kita Hiroshima.
Her parents are really sweet, highly normal with an ageing half blind tubby dog. After a brief introduction we headed out off to the local super sento for a pre-new year bath....ahhhh, so nice and then back for dinner. Sushi, pasta salad, osechi stuff, huge slices of tako and salmon, chowamushi- which I ate! and enjoyed! (I'm an egg hater so it was a big thing for me), and fried chicken. I was so glad I hadn't eaten much earlier as all the portions were huge and they were all so encouraging to eat, eat and eat! so I did my best.
Then we sat down to watch the kohaku, the annual red and white song contest. The whole thing.... whilst being plied with coffee, fruit, cake and snacks. I particularly enjoyed the giant mechanical crane, topped by the woman. Last year she sang her song on top of a large replica model of herself so this was practically tasteful!
At 11pm "Mama Y" produced a huge bowl of new year, long-life soba noodles, topped with tempura prawns and the like for new year, my stomach was seriously protesting at this point,but I managed to slurp a few mouthfuls of noodles. The dog,Love-chan, also got noodles.
After the end of the Kohaku- won by the white team (men) again, we tuned into the bells being rung for the 108 sins of the year and a tour round the shrines and temples of Japan. It was lovely to see the shrine in Tottori-ken coated in heavy snow, but with the rabbit statues peaking out from underneath their snowy mantle, so cute.
And just after new year, after wishing everyone body a happy new year- with the bowing, we retired to bed. It took me til 3 to drop off as I feeling so full. And I woke with the sun in time to ring home for new year in Scotland, where my parents and sister were enjoying the fireworks and ceilidh music in the background.
Breakfast was another feast- mochi soup, a huge half fillet of Hokke from Obihiro, pickles and sausages.
In an effort to make some space for the food, we fired up the Wii for some New years tennis and bowling and then headed to the local shrine for hatsumode and a delicious cup of hot amazake.

After this Y and I headed to the local Jusco shopping center for the lucky bags. I thought the shops would be closed, but it was heaving with people and the shop assistants yelling ( I bet they must be hoarse by now!). I didn't mean too, but I ended up coming back with a lovely cardigan coat and scarf from Benetton....ah well.

After a quick pop back home we headed back to Sapporo, not before being loaded down with breadrolls, sweets, cheese mochi snacks and rice crackers....

I think the act of moving will help shift some of the new year calories. I hope it does anyway. Back to work tomorrow for my last 8 days of work in Japan. I've got 3 leaving parties in the next 2 weeks so its going to be busy 2 weeks.