Whether its for the performances, the food, the unexplained appearance of one of Japan’s most beloved characters, to celebrate Sino-Japanese friendship, or just to enjoy a few Chinese beers and food, then it can be a pretty good day out for all of the family.<\/p>\n
Chinese Festival Details<\/h2>\n\n- Where<\/strong>: Hisaya Odori Park,\u00a03 Chome-16 Sakae, Naka-ku (map<\/a>)<\/li>\n
- When<\/strong>:\u00a0January 6 11:00-17:00, January 7 and 8 10:00-17:00 to 8, 2018<\/li>\n
- Website<\/strong>:\u00a0n-cj.com<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
[spacer height=”20px”]<\/p>\n
Chinese New Year Facts<\/h2>\n
Fireworks<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Bamboo stems with gunpowder were used in ancient China to scare away evil spirits. These have become the firecrackers we know today. Many cities across the world have controlled or banned the use of fireworks at Chinese New Year due to the fire risk they pose, though Yokohama is not one of them.<\/p>\nRed Envelopes<\/strong> \u2013 It was once believed that red would frighten evil spirits, and so it is into red envelopes that married or elderly people place money to give to unmarried juniors as a way of gaining good luck for the coming year. The envelopes will contain an odd-numbered currency (even-numbered currency is given at funerals) and will be placed under the pillow unopened and slept upon for 7 days.<\/p>\nClothing<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 New clothes will be worn, from top to toe, to symbolize a new beginning for a new year. These clothes will commonly be red or brightly colored to frighten evil spirits.<\/p>\nSong<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 A popular song sung at this time of year is X\u012bn Ni\u00e1n H\u01ceo Ya; literally: \u201cNew Year\u2019s Good\u201d. Interestingly it has a melody not dissimilar to Oh My Darling, Clementine.<\/p>\nGreetings<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Want to wish someone \u2018happy new year?\u2019 Well, it\u2019s \u2018Xin Nian Kuai Le\u2019, pronounced \u2018sheen nian kwai luh\u2019 in Mandarin or \u2018San Nin Fai Lok\u2019, pronounced \u2018san knee fy lock\u2019 in Cantonese. For a more traditional greeting try \u2018wishing you great happiness and prosperity\u2019 which is \u2018Gong Xi Fa Cai\u2019, pronounced \u2018gong zee fah chai\u2019 in Mandarin or in Cantonese \u2018Gong Hey Fat Choy\u2019, pronounced \u2018gung hey fah choy\u2019.<\/p>\nOther Chinese New Year Events in Japan<\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/japaninfoswap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Chinese-New-Year-Yokohama.jpg\")
<\/a><\/h3>\nYokohama<\/strong><\/h3>\nYokohama Ch\u016bkagai has a 150-year history, stretching back to the Meiji era opening of Yokohama\u2019s seaport, when many Chinese immigrants arrived in Japan. Today it is the largest Chinatown in Asia, one of the biggest in the world, with around 250 Chinese owned or themed shops and restaurants. As such the celebration of New Year is understandably large and goes on for more than two weeks from February 15 to March 2.<\/p>\n
\n- Website<\/strong>:\u00a0www.chinatown.or.jp<\/a><\/li>\n
- Closest Railway Stations<\/strong>: Ishikawa-cho Station; Motomachi-Chukagai Station<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Kobe<\/strong><\/h3>\nFor around a week in February, the whole of Kobe’s Chinatown area is bustling with activity and celebrations to ring in the new year. Whether you\u2019re into parades, ritual dances, martial arts, acrobatics, or even just some authentic Chinese cuisine, there is certainly something for everyone during the festival.<\/p>\n
\n- Website<\/strong>:\u00a0www.nankinmachi.or.jp<\/a><\/li>\n
- Closest Railway Stations<\/strong>:\u00a0JR Motomachi Station<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
By Mark Guthrie<\/p>\n
Image by\u00a0Garry Knight<\/a>\u00a0(Own work) [CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>],\u00a0via flickr.com\u00a0<\/a>(modified)<\/p>\nImage by kana hata<\/a>\u00a0(Own work) [CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>],\u00a0via flickr.com\u00a0<\/a>(modified)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Although Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1873, celebration of the Chinese year is still an\u00a0 important cultural event in the country. This year (2018) the Chinese New Year falls on February 16, however Nagoya wants to get in on the fun a little bit early. Chinese New Year Festival From January 6 to 8, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2687,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,68,94,54,165,42,246],"tags":[83,211,69,89,73,100,101,148],"class_list":["post-2686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-festivals","category-food-and-dining","category-japan","category-kobe","category-nagoya-2","category-yokohama","tag-aichi-prefecture","tag-china","tag-event","tag-february","tag-january","tag-nagoya-city","tag-nagoya-dining","tag-nagoya-festivals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2686"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50844,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2686\/revisions\/50844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
[spacer height=”20px”]<\/p>\n
Chinese New Year Facts<\/h2>\n
Fireworks<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Bamboo stems with gunpowder were used in ancient China to scare away evil spirits. These have become the firecrackers we know today. Many cities across the world have controlled or banned the use of fireworks at Chinese New Year due to the fire risk they pose, though Yokohama is not one of them.<\/p>\n Red Envelopes<\/strong> \u2013 It was once believed that red would frighten evil spirits, and so it is into red envelopes that married or elderly people place money to give to unmarried juniors as a way of gaining good luck for the coming year. The envelopes will contain an odd-numbered currency (even-numbered currency is given at funerals) and will be placed under the pillow unopened and slept upon for 7 days.<\/p>\n Clothing<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 New clothes will be worn, from top to toe, to symbolize a new beginning for a new year. These clothes will commonly be red or brightly colored to frighten evil spirits.<\/p>\n Song<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 A popular song sung at this time of year is X\u012bn Ni\u00e1n H\u01ceo Ya; literally: \u201cNew Year\u2019s Good\u201d. Interestingly it has a melody not dissimilar to Oh My Darling, Clementine.<\/p>\n Greetings<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Want to wish someone \u2018happy new year?\u2019 Well, it\u2019s \u2018Xin Nian Kuai Le\u2019, pronounced \u2018sheen nian kwai luh\u2019 in Mandarin or \u2018San Nin Fai Lok\u2019, pronounced \u2018san knee fy lock\u2019 in Cantonese. For a more traditional greeting try \u2018wishing you great happiness and prosperity\u2019 which is \u2018Gong Xi Fa Cai\u2019, pronounced \u2018gong zee fah chai\u2019 in Mandarin or in Cantonese \u2018Gong Hey Fat Choy\u2019, pronounced \u2018gung hey fah choy\u2019.<\/p>\n Yokohama Ch\u016bkagai has a 150-year history, stretching back to the Meiji era opening of Yokohama\u2019s seaport, when many Chinese immigrants arrived in Japan. Today it is the largest Chinatown in Asia, one of the biggest in the world, with around 250 Chinese owned or themed shops and restaurants. As such the celebration of New Year is understandably large and goes on for more than two weeks from February 15 to March 2.<\/p>\n For around a week in February, the whole of Kobe’s Chinatown area is bustling with activity and celebrations to ring in the new year. Whether you\u2019re into parades, ritual dances, martial arts, acrobatics, or even just some authentic Chinese cuisine, there is certainly something for everyone during the festival.<\/p>\n By Mark Guthrie<\/p>\n Image by\u00a0Garry Knight<\/a>\u00a0(Own work) [CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>],\u00a0via flickr.com\u00a0<\/a>(modified)<\/p>\n Image by kana hata<\/a>\u00a0(Own work) [CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>],\u00a0via flickr.com\u00a0<\/a>(modified)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Although Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1873, celebration of the Chinese year is still an\u00a0 important cultural event in the country. This year (2018) the Chinese New Year falls on February 16, however Nagoya wants to get in on the fun a little bit early. Chinese New Year Festival From January 6 to 8, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2687,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,68,94,54,165,42,246],"tags":[83,211,69,89,73,100,101,148],"class_list":["post-2686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-festivals","category-food-and-dining","category-japan","category-kobe","category-nagoya-2","category-yokohama","tag-aichi-prefecture","tag-china","tag-event","tag-february","tag-january","tag-nagoya-city","tag-nagoya-dining","tag-nagoya-festivals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2686"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50844,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2686\/revisions\/50844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Other Chinese New Year Events in Japan<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/h3>\nYokohama<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
Kobe<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n