Photo of the Day Archive for August 2006

by Albert Wen, Nov 15, 2006 | Destinations: Vietnam

A small basket boat on the river at Hoi An.

A small basket boat on the river at Hoi An.

Image © 2001 Global Directions, Inc.

A small basket boat on the river at Hoi An.

The New Year is Japan's most important celebration. At this time, the people of Japan visit shrines and temples to pray for blessings in the year to come. Families gather to enjoy specially prepared foods called O-sechi, and to exchange seasonal gifts. One traditional New Year's gift is a symbolic arrow to ward off bad fortune in the coming year.

On the second Sunday of the New Year, wearing nothing more than loincloths called shitaobi and headbands called hachimaki, many Japanese men brave the icy waters of Teppozu Inari Jinja, a Shinto shrine in central Tokyo, to practice a yearly purification ritual.

The New Year is Japan's most important celebration. At this time, the people of Japan visit shrines and temples to pray for blessings in the year to come. Families gather to enjoy specially prepared foods called O-sechi, and to exchange seasonal gifts. One traditional New Year's gift is a symbolic arrow to ward off bad fortune in the coming year.

Photo of the Day Archive for August 2006

More From This Author

How to photograph an eclipse: don't look at it directly...

Eclipsed in Hong Kong

China

Albert Wen

A Year of the Tiger display at the Landmark, Central, Hong Kong

Kung Hei Fat Choi

China

Albert Wen

Taiwan officially recognizes nine distinct indigenous groupings, a total of 400,000 people (about 2 percent of the entire population.) Twenty peoples of Austronesian extraction were living in Taiwan for centuries before the Chinese made any significant inroads in the island.

Photo of the Day Archive for March 2004

Taiwan

Albert Wen

June 21, 2002, Hong Kong. A very nice and hot Friday afternoon. Brazil faces England in the quarterfinals. Your friends are in Japan watching the game. Still, there are many places you can catch the game from Hong Kong. One of them is Times Square, one of Hong Kong's major shopping malls.

World Cup Fever - Hong Kong

China

Albert Wen

More Vietnam Stories

ThingsAsian icon

Ho Chi Minh in Ba Dinh Square

Vietnam

Michael McKittrick

ThingsAsian icon

A Pilgrimage to Phat Diem

Vietnam

Michael McKittrick

The Road Less Travelled

Vietnam / Cambodia

Danyael Halprin

ThingsAsian icon

Reform and Tradition in Early Vietnamese Popular Song

Vietnam

Jason Gibbs

About ThingsAsian

ThingsAsian is an Asia travel website with stories contributed by a worldwide community. Although we cover a wide range of topics, our emphasis is on art, culture, history and travel. Our writers, photographers and contributors are real people who tell you the stories of their personal travels and experiences. Some of the countries we currently cover are Burma, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Email: info@thingsasian.com