I posted the Kadomatsu picture yesterday, but there are many more traditional new year decorations here in Japan and today, I wanted to share some pictures of Kagami Mochi. The kagami mochi usually is placed in various locations throughout the house. My parents had 3, various sizes.

January 11th (yesterday) was Kagami biraki (another traditional ceremony after new years day) so we ate these mochi in Zenzai (Red Bean Soup) — one of my favorites!

Mochi does get hard and cracks… (but it gets soft again when cooked in certain way) and sometimes get moldy, but we all eat them anyway. (take the moldiness off, of course)

This one has Hoshigaki (dried persimmons) — hadn’t had it for a long time, it is quite good.

Urajiro leaves:

Japanese new year is so very traditional and it’s been the same way for thousands of years, it is so interesting and deeply thought out. (everything has meaning) I’ve been enjoying everything once again!