This year due to a lack of money I stayed in Japan for New Years. I tried to do all the customs that Japanese people do for the holiday. I did ‘mochi-tsuki’. I Ate ‘osechi ryori’, ‘toshi-koshi soba’, and ‘ozoni’, and I went to a temple to pray for the new year - ’hatsumode’. One of the best and most popular places in Tokyo to do hatsumode is at Mt. Takao, a mountain I am very familiar with.

I went with two of my friends. This is Sebastian.

There was a small magic show we stopped to watch a bit before climbing.

At the top!

Most Japanese people go to pray during the New Years holiday.

We also had to get our fortunes.

100 yen in 1 yen coins to put at the base of 100 small statues.

Use your power to try to rattle it.

I showed my friends how to feed the mountain birds from your hands.

The biggest dog I have ever seen, it was huge… that’s because it’s a wolf. 100% according to the owner. It was my first time to see one that wasn’t behind bars.