Japanese New Years - Oshogatsu meal

I'm glad I'm not from a Southern family. The fried quotient isn't too high here. In Japanese families, New Years Day means more than partying the night before. Actually, it's weird, when the clock strikes 12 midnight, most people are hiding at their families homes. A year ago, I was in Tokyo and was at a Shibuya countdown. Notice it's all in English and the people around seemed to be heavily foreigners.