Happy New Year

Happy New Year from Japan!

We hope that you had a restful holiday season.

The word for new year in Japanese is  (正月, shōgatsu) .
But Japanese people often refer to it with the honorific prefix "O".
So they call it "Oshōgatsu".
This is because a new year, and the period leading up to and following the new year is regarded as a spiritual time.

We hope that you had time to contemplate during the break, and found new resolutions to carry into 2023.

Many people dress up and visit shrines during this time.
And pray for good fortune in the coming year.

Ladies on these occassions dress up in Kimono and some gentlemen also wear the traditional wear or perhaps suits.

It is a joyous but quite solemn affair and the most famous shrines around the country are very crowded at this time.

JOI News
At JOI, we have had a busy holiday period making some changes to the site and the services.

We are planning to restart classes the school on January 6th using Zoom software and new Subscription-style tickets for the FlexLessons.

There is also a New Year Campaign where you can get 2 free tickets!

We look forward to seeing you in class.
Moses : JOI Support