Dec 31 (Japan Today) - Millions of Japanese people will visit shrines in Japan on Sunday night and Monday morning, return to their home towns to be with their families and watch the New Year variety show "Kohaku Uta Gassen" (Red and White Song Contest) on NHK as part of the annual New Year celebration.
Shrines are expected to be crowded on Sunday night and Monday morning. Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, in particular, welcomes a huge wave of worshippers each year on Dec 31 and Jan 1. The gigantic shrine expects three million visitors in the first three days of the new year. Smaller neighborhood shrines throughout the country also receive a steady stream of visitors.
For those staying at home on New Year's Eve, NHK's popular variety program "Kohaku Uta Gassen" will air from 7:15 p.m. Though it has lost some of its luster in the past 10 years, "Kohaku" – being held for the 68th consecutive year -- is still considered the most prestigious TV music program to be invited to appear on. Up to 35% of Japan's TV audience is expected to watch the four-hour program.
Among the new additions this year are singers Midori Oka, Daichi Miura and Tortoise Matsumoto, rock acts Shishamo, Elephant Kashimashi, Wanima and Takehara Pistol, as well as the popular South Korean pop idol group Twice.
Namie Amuro, who announced that she will be retiring from the showbiz industry in 2018, will make a guest appearance.
Although parties and countdown events aren't as popular in Japan as in Western countries (think of New Year's Eve in Japan as akin to Christmas Eve in the West), there are big events planned at some of the 5-star hotels, clubs, pubs and restaurants in the major cities.
In Tokyo's Shibuya district, traffic will be prohibited from entering the famous scramble crossing from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. so that the thousands of revelers can gather in relative safety. For the past two years, police restricted pedestrian access to the intersection but the crowds have been increasing each year, causing massive traffic jams and pedestrian congestion.
If you're out and about, you'll hear lots of bells. At midnight, temple bells will strike 108 times -- a ritual known as Joya no Kane. According to Buddhist beliefs, the number 108 corresponds to the number of evil desires that we suffer from. It is believed that by listening to or ringing the bell 108 times, you can rid yourself of those evil desires.
Getting home won't be a problem, at least in Tokyo. Subways and trains in the nation's capital run throughout the night -- the only night each year they do so.
