NISHIYAMA RYOKAN

On February 16th, we held the office New Year's party at Ristorante Strada. http://www.strada-oike.com/ Most of our staffs partook this party. At first we had a speech from our president. We raised a toast and we enjoyed having Italian course meals and chatting for a while. Each meal tasted delicious and also provided a sense of fullness. After that, we had a game. We made 7 teams and competed the speed to place ginkgo nuts on the dish to another one with chopsticks. It is very difficult to snare ginkgo nuts with chopsticks because the surface is smooth.. Everyone with a serious look ^^ Of course we could get some prizes. What are there in? After the game, we sang songs with piano and ukulele playing. You are my sunshine ~ ♪ The music made us happy smile. We had a very good time! We thank you all for your continuing support. See you! NISHIYAMA RYOKAN

In Japan, we celebrate "Setsubun" in every Feburary 3rd . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun Setasubun means seasonal division and from past it was believed that during the change of season there are evil spirits appears. To drive out these spirits there are many festivals and rituals held in all over Japan. Most popular ritual is called Mamemaki, where throw roasted Soy Beans and call out "Oni ha Soto, Fuku ha Uchi!!" (Demons out! Luck in!).It was believed that Japanise demons (Oni) brings evil sprits. We visited some places which hold Setsubun events. At first we visited Senbon Enmado. You can see the statue of The great king of the Buddhist Hades. We had boiled Konnyaku(devil's tongue) to exorcise evil spirit. Secoundly, we visited Mibu dera Temple to see the Mibu Kyogen play(Noh). We can not take a picture of Kyogen play, but we really enjoyed watching it. It was fun!! Finally, we visited Rosanji Temple. There are three evils walking around us and the