New Years!

Well, New Years has come and gone, and it was fun here.
First off, I've uploaded more pictures on to my site in the Chiba section, and one in the Tokyo section.

The Chiba pictures that are new are of the first sunrise of the year. We stayed up on the 31st of December until 2AM of course... and then went to sleep... and then woke up at 5AM to go out to see the first sunrise of the year on top of a mountain in Chiba. It was very crowded there... several hundred people. It's apparently very popular for people here to do this. So the pictures were taken from my phone... as I forgot my good camera... So the ground which looks like it's black in those pictures was actually lit... It was cityscape and farm land, with the ocean in the background.

After that, we went back home, and had one of the most wonderful breakfasts ever with Asako's family (Grandpa included this time). It is their tradition to have a special breakfast on New Years.

Later in the day... we went off to Mitaka to spend the night there (Asako's Grandpa's house in case you forgot). The next day, we had a party with Asako's family and cousin/uncle/aunt. That was lots of fun. Had a wonderfully large lunch and drank a decent amount. Lots of fun.

Later Asako and I headed off to a temple in Harajuku. A very large one.... It was RIDICULOUSLY busy. It was busy because it is also tradition to head off to a temple in the New Year to pray for best wishes for the upcoming year, and pray for your family, etc... Even people with no religion do this.

Once the holidays are officially over (the 7th/8th), then I'll be starting a job search extravaganza.

I hope everybody's New Years was good as well and lots of fun!