The ｆirst visit of the year to a shrine or a temple

1. The ｆirst visit of the year to a shrine or a temple Hatsumode A: Where’s here? B:It’s shrine. A:What are you doing here? B:We come here on the new years day. And pray for happyness A:Is that so? B:I take fortune slip and buy charm. A:Why do you buy fortune slip? B:It tells us our fortune through this year. It has from very good luck to extremely bad luck. A:Oh really.I want try. B: Hey you!! Please try it when you come to Japan.

2. たこあげ　a kite flying たこあげ A: That looks interesting, but what kind of game is it? B: It's called “takoage”, or traditional Japanese kite flying. A: What rules are there? B: Only that you have to make your kite by hand and fly it on New Year's. A: Is it difficult to fly these kites? B: Not really. You can put whatever picture you like on it. A: Those are easy to make, so I want to try it next New Year.

3. どんどや　Dondoya Grill rice cakes Dondoya A:Why is this burning? B: We call it Dondoya and we bake rice cake in it. A:Oh really? B:I have another reason. A:What what? Teach me!!. B:If you burn your calligraphy work, You will be good at doing it for the future. A:When do you do this? B:In the next new year!! A:May I join it the next new year? B:Sure. A: Thank you.

4. 福笑い　Hukuwarai 笑う門には福来たる Laugh and get fat!!

5. かるた　a Karuta game (a card game) A: What's this? B: It's “karuta”. A: What's that? B: It's a game! There are cards, and on each card there is a different sentence. Somebody reads a sentance, and whoever finds the card with the same sentance first picks it up. Whoever collects the most cards is the winner! A: When do you play it? B: We play karuta during New Year's with our friends and family. But we can play it other times, if we want to. A: Ah, I see! I'd like to try playing it some time. It looks interesting! B: Of course it is! Let's play it together!

6. こままわし　Koma ( top-spinning) A: What are you doing? B: I'm spinning a top. A: What's that? B: It's a “koma”, a traditional Japanese top. A: Is it interesting? B: Of course! A: How do you do it? B: You wrap a thread around it and then throw it. A: Cool! B: It's fun to watch spinning around. A: Sounds interesting. Can you show me? B: Sure.

7. はごいた Hagoita　(a Japanese battledore) Hagoita A:It looks fun. How do you play it? B:We call it Hagoita and we play hit the wing each other. A:What is the rule? B:IF I fall the wing,we will lose. And I will draw India Ink by my partner. A:When do you play? B:We play ti on the new years days. A:It sounds fun. I want to play it in the next New Year.

8. モグラうち 　 もぐら A mole モグラうち A: What is this? B: It's a mole! A: What are those children doing? B: They're beating the ground with ropes. A: What happens when they do that? B: When they beat the ground, any moles living underneath become frightened and run away. A: Wow! That's cool. Where do they beat the ground? B: In front of the entrance to their homes. A: Wow, really? How do they make the rope? B: They collect rice stalks and wind them together. A: When do people do this activity? B: In winter, from evening to late night, in front of and around their own houses. A: I'd like to try it some day!

9. もちつき　Rice-cake making Mochitsuki A:What are they doing? B:We are making Rice cake. A:What’s Mochi B:It’s sticky rice. We eat it and decorate it one the paper. A: Why do you do so? B:Because we wish to be happy without unhappy things through one new year A:Oh really? How do you eat it? B: We .put sweet bean paste and strawberry in it and decorate big one and small one on the White paper. A: Sounds interesting. I will try it soon.