I love that moment when you wake up on a holiday. The sun may be shining, your bed is warm, and all you have to worry about is getting to the kitchen (eventually) for a cup of coffee. Stress inevitably creeps in as you get going with the day, but for a few minutes it’s bliss. This year, I woke up in Japan on New Year's Day (not even a bit hungover), made my coffee, and knew it was time to start this newsletter. Neither Japan nor writing a substack were ever in my long-term plan. But sometimes we just need to run with ideas when they come, so here I am! And here you are too! Thanks for that.
Like many, I don’t love the “new year, new me” mantra that we spew every January 1st. I’m not one to rush off to the gym for the first week of the year (or at all), or suddenly start drinking more water like I know I should. No shade to resolutions, they work for many people. Why, though, do we need a new year to become a new and more energized version of ourselves? The new year is a perfect time to practice some self-reflection and dream of what’s to come, but it’s not a guarantee of change. I guess that is what this newsletter is for me. It’s accountability to myself to be myself, a tool for self-reflection, and a chance to dream.
So let me be vulterable.
I’ve been feeling the pressure of the new year more than usual. 2023 was a year of immense change for me. I quit my very solid teaching job that I loved, left my friends, family, and cat behind in America, and boarded a one-way flight to Japan. My move wasn't totally spontaneous. First, I had to survive eight months of interview processes and Japanese lessons. But though I worked hard to get here, I cannot say that Japan was a long-term dream for me. Expat living? Yes. Japan? Might as well be the moon. Plan or not, I proved myself to be my own hero as I plucked up my courage and made the leap last July.
So how do I top that? This is where the inevitable holiday stress lies. The bar has been set way too high. I am doomed for a year of disappointment and discomfort as I continue to adjust to life here without the excitement of newness that is quickly wearing off. At least, that is what I feard. Perhaps the universe has my back though, as she usually does. A little peace of mind miraculously arrived when I received my New Year's fortune at Taga Taisha Shrine on January 1st.
A quick explanation: Japanese New Year is a much bigger holiday than it is in the States. The celebration doesn’t end right after midnight with a bang and some confetti. Instead, Japan enjoys three days of family traditions, good food, gratitude, rest, and resetting. An integral part of the holiday is visiting a local Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple. After saying hello to the gods through a quick prayer (beware the lines, though they do move fast), it’s time for Omikuji (御神籤). Omikuji are randomized yearly fortunes written on strips of white and colored paper. They range in severity and could be anything from a great big blessing (dai-kichi) to a curse on your year (dai-kyo). After making your small donation to the shrine or temple, you can draw a number from a box and receive your fortune. Never fear! If you pull a bad fortune, simply tie the paper in the designated area and let the shrine or temple take care of your bad luck so as not to bring it home.
My first experience with Omikuji, as with most of my first experiences in Japan, started a little rocky. Minor embarrassment is an understatement of how I felt when I tried unsuccessfully to take the numbered stick out of the box and needed the assistance of a monk. While I’ve gotten better at letting little missteps slide off my back, the initial sting is always there. My beet-red face was surely proof. I didn’t have high hopes as I unrolled the paper, and at least one or two butterflies were flapping around in my gut. A momentary pause for Google Translate to work its magic, and voilà: Sho-kichi! Small Blessings! I can work with that. I felt no hesitation in pocketing my fortune to bring home for the new year. “Small” was the keyword though. On the way home, the wind that had died while at the shrine whipped my face and legs. My fingers stung and my nose ran, but the sun shone on the fields turning the tall grasses into gold. En route back to Maibara, my friend and I got on the wrong train (thanks to my own lack of attention). We ended up stuck and exposed to the elements, shivering, for an extra thirty minutes. But the vending machine at the station had cans of hot cocoa to warm us. Most notably, a severe earthquake hit Ishikawa prefecture as I walked home back in town. If you have seen the footage, you know the damage it caused along Japan's western coast. I wasn’t sure whether the shaking I felt around me was an earthquake or the wind until I got a phone alert and heard sirens. Two minutes later, I was home safe. Thankfully, the magnitude in northern Shiga, where I live, was only about a 4. No damage was done to my area. Blessings indeed.
All things considered, If the rest of my year continues as it started, I should count myself as more than fortunate - a fact I know I’ll have to begrudgingly remind myself from time to time. I guess not every year can be one of momentous change. And wouldn’t it be exhausting if it was? The small blessings I have experienced so far might have been there without the omikuji, but the fortune helped me to see them. I am thankful for that. I hope, if you find yourself in the same boat as me this January, starting positively but not expecting the world, you can recognize the small blessings happening around you. I’ll try to do the same. After all, it’s a small blessing for me that you’re reading this now.
Until next time, ありがとうございました! If you have any comments, questions, or small blessings of your own to share, I’d love to hear from you! If you liked this post, there’s a button to press! And if you know anyone who may want to make a similar move someday, likes Japan, or just enjoys email newsletters, feel free to share a link with them to my page.
Happy New Year!
あけましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくお願いします。
Ending Notes
Listening To: Recently I’ve been getting back into Japanese music after a brief break during 2023. My favorite new album is “That’s Life” by artist Evisbeats. It dropped in 2023 and is a perfect chill album for a slow and mindful start to the year.
Recent Eats: Toshikoshi Soba, or New Year’s Soba - a simple but nourishing hot noodle dish enjoyed on New Year’s Eve cuddled under the warm kutatsu (heated table that is activley saving me from frostbite). There are different ways to make it, but the dish nearly always has a seafood-broth base and is topped with green onions and seaweed. I included some sautéed snow peas and mushrooms in mine, which were delicious!
Admirable! Your reflections echo the fact that there is soooooo much more out there to see, experience, and grow from. Hope you never lose your spark. Totally envious!!
What a grand adventure!