I moved this page to another platform, and you can find articles on the link below from now on. Thank you for visiting and reading my blog in advance.

http://nagano351mkm.xsrv.jp/blandindnaganobrandedinmind/

This announcement is a great part of the festival called To-myo matsuri that I wrote an article about and uploaded on January 29th. The festival is taken place between Februally 6th and 11th, so it actually has begun.

In the middle of the festival, you can have an amazing and unforgettable experience, which is letting the sky lantern fly into the perfectly clear night sky of Nagano (if the weather was good enough).

The number is limited only for 100 people, and I am done signing up for it. The fee to take part in for it is just $20. 

This is the very first and newly launched event of this festival, so there is not much information and images of how it looks like. I personally imagine and expect the scene from the Disney movie "tangled" or sky lantern festival in Thailand. 

Anyway, I’m pretty sure the night will be unforgettable and branded in my mind! 

Each individual has their own ways to spend the very first day of the new year. Some people prefer to spend quietly, and others prefer to start it actively.

I thought I was going to be the former, but my plan for the first of January changed in the very last minute of the night before, and I ended up being “others”.

My friends asked me (well it wasn’t that easy, I was almost forcefully taken)to climb a steep mountain in Ueda for Hatsuhinode(初日の出) , which means Watching the sunrise on New Year’s Day!

Walking up the mountain was tiring, scary and not so easy because we initiated it 4:00 in the morning to reach its peak by the sun rises, and therefore it was too dark to see your step without light.

We prayed for the best of our new year at the shrine on the top of the mountain. Having met a lot of families who habitually visit this shrine every year.

After 2h 30m, we hit the summit and made it before the sun comes out!

It was freezing because The temperature was far below zero(you can easily imagine it judging from the condition of Nagano, At high altitude, winter, and early in the morning.)

Yet, the feeling I had when I caught the view and the shine with my eyes, was beyond description. All the hardships we had up to the top of the mountain were swept away by the breathtaking scene. I feel that I went off on a wonderful start of the year.

Almost forgot to mention the name of the mountain, and that was Taro-yama(太郎山). Strongly recommended to hike and capture what we saw with your own eyes if you had a chance.

Even though there are snow festivals in some places in Japan around this season,  Nagano also has a snow festival in the place called "Iiyama". I suppose a lot of people do not know how good and convenient the access is. Iiyama station is actually the next station of Nagano by Shinkansen Hakutaka. If you had JR pass and took it from Tokyo station, it would only take 1h and 50minutes, so I highly recommend to put this in your plan for the upcoming weekend if you were looking for something interesting and seasonal.

In addition, I am going to visit it on Feb 9th with my friends and so excited!! 

Origin 

Local citizens used to think of snow as a "Burden" because it gives them various troubles such as It blocking roads, having to remove it and sometimes it crashes their houses.

However, they changed the ideas on the troublesome snow, and started to take it from a different angle and turn the burden into an opportunity for the city. "Turning worrying into Entertaining" That is the concept of the festival.

Locals are surely welcoming you with local foods you cannot resist to be attracted and its traditional culture can entertain you. There is no doubt you will experience "Iiyamaness" through the festival.

Date: 2/9 (10:00-20:00),  2/10 (10:00-15:00)

You can see the details of the festival on the link below (sorry for it written in Japanese)

Featured events (based on my personal opinion)  are seeing over 100 snow sculptures curbed world famous artists, locals and children lined along streets around Iiyama area which you are able to see through 2days, and fireworks on the first day(only on 9th) between 19:30 and 20:00. As for fireworks according to the information I found, it lasts about 20 minutes, but I definitely think it is worthwhile waiting until then or visiting for it as the purpose of the festival. 

Transportation

・JR Shinkansen from Tokyo: Hakutaka for approximately 1h50m runs every 1-2hours.

・LocalTrain from Nagano: JR Iiyama line bound for Tokamachi (十日町) for 45min, no need to change the train and take off at Iiyama station.

Quoted from: http://www.iiyama-ouendan.net/

Recently came back to my hometown, Nagano and saw a lot of foreigners at Nagano station.

It impressed me because I felt Nagano became remarkably more popular than before. When I was little, the number of foreign tourists was not so big. I was simply happy that a number of foreigners would like to visit Nagano and enjoy what they experience there.

However, within 15minutes after I had arrived at the station, some of foreigners being in trouble especially for the means of transportation. 

Did not realized by then that signs of everything and timetables of buses and trains were written only in Japanese almost anywhere in Nagano. It dawned on me that Nagano on that point was not so foreigners-friendly and I would like to transform the situation dramatically, and hope it leads to welcome more foreigners and make NAGANO more appealing.

Rome was not build in a day / Small things make a big difference.

Here, I would like to introduce ways that Japanese people spend the New years' days based on my own experience.

When I spent a new year's eve and the new years' days in Denmark as a student, people celebrated it with fireworks and bottles of beer, and the word which popped into my mind was "BUSTLING". People intoxicated and the noise of fireworks overtook loud voices of party people. And therefore, I easily imagine foreigners can think of that Japanese 年越し "Toshikoshi" (New Year's Eve) is just like that.

 However, the fact is the opposite. The word would be tranquility (if I had to pick.)

Most of Japanese quietly wait for the new year to come with their family members. You go home to meet your parents, grand parents and siblings, and have Osechi (cuisine specifically eaten on the new year's days).

Others might go to have a Ninen-mairi (二年参り) which means Two years of praying. It is a visit to a shrine/temple over the year. So technically, you can pray twice over two years (the leaving year and the incoming year). One is for wiping out all the bad lucks and regrets you Had and the other is for wishing good lucks and joys you Have in the new year.

At the moment you welcome the year, you can hear bells ringing from somewhere very far. the bell is rung 108 times for sweeping away People's evil passions.

In the end, you eat Toshikoshi-sobe (Buck wheat Noodle for the new year).  Really quiet, is not it? You can find how different your culture and that of Japanese on the 1/1 on the next blog!