NEW YEAR IN JAPAN

The Japanese celebrate New Year's Day (shogatsu) on January 1. The first 3 days are usually holidays. A long time ago, they used to follow the Chinese New Year but they now follow the Gregorian calendar and celebrate New Year's Day every 1st of January.

Before the coming of the New Year, homes are cleaned thoroughly (ohsouji) and are decorated with beautiful ornaments made of pine, bamboo, and plum trees. Special meals and dishes (osechi) are prepared like ozoni (a soup with mochi), kobumaki (tuna fish wrapped in boiled kelp), kamaboko (food prepared from fish paste), kurikinton ( mashed sweet potato with chestnut), kuromame (sweetened black beans) and otoso (sweetened rice wine).

I also read that sending New Year's postcards called nengajoo is also a popular tradition here. These postcards are sent to family and friends and may be purchased, homemade or personalized. Some typical greetings are: kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu (I hope for your favour in the coming year), akemashite o-medetōgozaimasu (New Year's congratulations), and kinga shinnen (Happy New Year).

Celebrating the new year in Japan also means paying special attention to the "first" of something. People pay special attention to the first time something is done in the new year. Hatsuhinode is the first sunrise of the year. Before sunrise on January 1st, people often drive to the coast or climb a mountain so that they can see the first sunrise of the new year. Hatsumoude is the first trip to a Shinto shrine. Many people visit a shrine after midnight on January 1st or sometime during the day on January 1st. If the weather is good, people often dress up or wear kimono. Other "firsts" that are marked as special events include shigoto-hajime (the first work of the new year), keiko-hajime (the first practice of the new year) and hatsu-yume (the first dream of the new year.)

sources: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2064.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_New_Year