What New Year's at my Japanese In-Laws House is like

this is what New Year's is like with my Japanese in-laws [Music] so we were here exactly four years ago but a lot has changed since then this time I have a kid Michael's sister is joining with a special someone and Grandpa gets to meet his grandson for the first time plus a few more other things which we'll get into this behind me is where Michael my Japanese wife grew up and why this video is gonna take place that all said Happy New Year and let's get started foreign [Music] and we are making it to the door now [Music] so this is Micah's mom Wolfy's Grandma AKA Baba thank you and that's Micah's dad Wolfy's Grandpa AKA GG [Music] how have you been what are these doing that this is actually the first time for Grandpa to meet Wolfie in person he's been wanting to see him ever since Wolfie was born but he's been recovering from a pretty severe stomach cancer surgery over the last several years and has been avoiding travel due to kovid so he's your first grandson right oh that's Junior Michael's sister's husband so how many times have you been here oh okay no worries I gotcha so it's pretty intimidating in Japan meeting your wife's parents for the first several times with all the Japanese formalities and such believe me I know so I'll do my best to make him feel at home what are you making ah my favorite she knows me well foreign [Music] so on the way to the house today after Michael's sister and Junior picked us up from the train station we stopped by the supermarket it was actually the first time for Michael and I to meet Junior so it was good to be able to talk to him for a bit before getting to the house just like the last time you were here on New Year's Eve the supermarket is extremely crowded with people buying food for tonight and stocking up for the next few days in Japan it's typical for families and relatives to return to their Hometown to celebrate the New Year's holidays together similar to the West for Christmas during this time families tend to stay home cook eat and drink quite a bit so it's good to have a few days worth of supplies ready what you getting Junior what do you drink I think we're gonna get along so this year is pretty crazy compared to the last time we were here the Lions go all the way to the back and then wrap back around to the front so many people I guess we're here later in the day than we were last time so I guess the closer you get to the New Year the busier it is so last time we went shopping with our parents at New Year's this is before we were married Michael told me it's considered kind of rude to pay for groceries as a guest in Japan but this time I guess I'm part of the family now so I think it's all good for me to pay for the groceries won't be fluffy tonight nice it looks like Wolfie's getting along with Grandpa [Music] thanks so what have you been up to yeah so Grandpa got Wolfie a lot of presents I can't blame him though he's probably just so excited to see him for the first time oh my God oh movies hugging Grandpa it's so cool to see but typically in Japan as kids get older physical displays affection like this get a bit awkward and then almost non-existent during adulthood but for now it's still culturally accepted [Music] so I don't know if this is a very typical thing but all the men are in the living room hanging out and all the women are in the kitchen foreign okay so Michael went out with her sister with Wolfie that are gonna walk the dog and I'm here with her father in Junior and we're just gonna you know do it I guess men do on a traditional Japanese holiday like this we drink what's that yeah you really grew that yes so it's been a lonely few years for many families in Japan as they've avoided returning home for the holidays and even this year many areas urge their City family members to avoid travel in fear of getting sick it's quite a different mindset compared to other parts of the world and the reason why you still see Mass born in the country luckily for us though we're all able to finally get together and welcome both movie and Junior to the family okay here we go a critical part of Japanese drinking culture pouring others drinks I messed up and just before dinner Michael's dad has a small speech for us reminding us all to appreciate the health safety and happiness of each family member I wonder how Junior's feeling right now at his first New Year's dinner strawberry it good any comments on the food so after a few beers I think junior is holding his own with grandpa so let's see what the ladies are doing oh good job [Music] I mean you know Michael's a horse and Wolfie loves elephants oh well there's no explaining this one at least I made them laugh Wolfie was a bit timid when he first arrived but now it looks like he's found his second home okay so it's about 7 45 right now we just are like about finishing dinner but it's kind of like going on people are still drinking you know we're just having a good time but the key here is that we have to make it until midnight to go to the hatsumo day which is like the first time Shrine of the year I actually don't know if I'm gonna make it myself because we've been drinking so maybe it is a good time to take a nap right now okay so it is 11 15 right now we decided Well at least I decided not to go to sleep we're about to go to the shrine Michael though is not really dressed for it and then Michael's mom is also not dressed for it so I don't really know who's gonna go I guess we're gonna see you two are going to hatsamore right okay we'll be [Music] ready so Wolfie was in bed but woke up because he's having an allergic reaction to maybe some of the foodie ate so Michael came down looking for his medicine it is about 11 55 right now and Wolfie just you know he's having some problems with his skin he's having trouble sleeping so we just have to take care of that but it's 11 55 and it's like literally no one is here I was expecting to go to hatsumote tonight but everyone's gone and Wolfie he's still struggling so last time you were here Michael and I went to hatsumote with her parents but this year Michael needs to watch over Wolfie and so it'll just be me joining the rest of the family if I can find them Happy New Year so it is officially 2023. we are about to go out to hatsamode it's just going to be us because everyone else went to sleep foreign [Music] so we're here just in front of the fire this is amazing you can see there's quite a bit of people here just enjoying the new year after midnight in Japan it's typical for everyone to gather at temples and shrines to pray for the new year and to show appreciation for the year past so what are you gonna pray foreign box we're about to make our donation and pray as many of you know from following the channel this last year Michael and wolfy have quite a few health issues so I'm personally thankful that her family was able to get through this year it's nothing but struggle City when trying to create content while tending to sick family members at the same time I can wish for nothing more than a healthy family for 2023. what's that um okay so we have just returned from hatsamode and we are now about to have some toshikoshi soba just to celebrate the New Year this is part of the entire tradition here in Japan cool so what time are you leaving tomorrow foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] so happy New Year to everyone and this is 2023 by the time you guys watch this video it's probably going to be a few weeks afterwards wishing you guys an awesome year thank you guys for watching the channel thank you guys for being a part of this like always we were up until probably just after two last night Michael's still asleep Grandma's still asleep the Grandpa's still asleep and obviously wolf is still asleep it's just me it's just after eight o'clock right now Junior and erichan they were sleeping right there they were actually on the couch when I went up this upstairs I thought they were still going to be here this morning I thought they were going to be like just waking up and I'd be able to say goodbye but I think they left so maybe they got up just a little bit earlier which is unfortunate to say goodbye to them um I don't know what I'll see them next probably at Eddie John's wedding so think what we'll do is just wait for everyone to get up I'll show you guys what the rest of the day is going to be like I'll probably try to go out with Wolfie maybe go on a little run to the park with him play around a little bit in the morning and then Ohio [Music] how did you sleep last night not good We're Young pretty little one thing I noticed that he's speaking a lot more Japanese ever since we got here probably because at home he made me speak English together and now he's surrounded by all Japanese speakers heck I'm even speaking Japanese crazy how quickly bilingual kids can adjust to their environment [Music] a Japanese western style what are you guys doing [Music] just a tad too much yesterday so I decided to go for a healthy run with Wolfie this morning to start off the new year [Music] and we're back is it just me or does nothing Keira Knight of drinking better than a good sweat the next morning [Music] it's a Japanese New Year's breakfast usually includes josechi which is as intricately prepared box of small food dishes each with its own meaning of good fortune and ozoni a traditional Japanese soup with Mochi inside recipes are completely different depending on where you live in Japan and their family's ozone recipe is based from Nagano or baika's Dad's from I'm just sleeping right now why are you so sleepy I think the night before I didn't sleep the night before we were drinking last night I was leaving a weird time like I just haven't had a regular standard sleeping hours with no alcohol I usually don't drink I hope Wolfy's skin is gonna get better that's the main reason why I'm sleeping we have a few more days this I just gotta chill and sleep [Music] okay so Wolfie and I are back from our morning Run play and just like hanging out got out of the shower and what do you expect but everyone is watching the TV just like hanging out around there which I've shared before but basically what you'll find is that there's just a lot of TV time sitting from the TV talking like catching up on the year that because they sit around at home there's a lot of good programming it's probably like some of the best programming you'll have if you are in Japan during this time then you might want to just check out some of the Japanese TV because I was playing all day during this time though while they're actually watching TV and like hanging out let's take this opportunity to let me show you kind of what's changed around the house and maybe what's still around so one thing that's quite interesting about Japanese houses especially in the winter is the temperature differences between the rooms and the hallways usually since the family is all around here then it's all heated and you have the heated floor or you have the AC from the from above but the hallways it's not heated so let me show you the temperature difference just from this room into the next I actually set this up a little bit earlier and then if we walk through here just outside so that's a six degree temperature difference but it's even more especially at night and you can find decorations that you can only find during the New Years this straw decoration as maybe you saw last time is called shimei Noah used for ritual purification in Japan often seen at the home's front door during the New Years but at Michael's house it's also placed in areas of the house that have water as well so this room is kind of interesting because if you've ever seen my day in the life of a Japanese car repair worker then you would know that this was Eddie's room back in the day but obviously she's moved out since then and Michael Wolfie and I slept here last night and now Michael's mom uses it as a sewing room so there you go a lot of people in the comments were asking if that's Michael's sister and the truth is yes so since we are last here it looks like Michael's dad has taken to growing his own plants and vegetables he even has his own little greenhouse and Chili's oh here comes Wolfie so I guess our Japanese New Year's home tour stops here [Music] okay good job [Music] oh good kick okay ready one thing that I love about visiting this place is that there's so much space for Wolfie to play not just at their house but also the huge parks around the neighborhood as well as the open streets living in a small apartment in Tokyo we really value open space and will be himself just enjoys being able to freely run around despite the winter cold outside don't let it [Music] go up let go let go we just woke up after a little little nap this afternoon just played all day I was a little bit tired still from yesterday now we're having dinner with the family we have some sushi we also had the late lunch as well so this is part of the the tradition is just eating the entire time all this lovely food and tonight of sushi [Music] oh damn he got his first in Japan it's customary for adults to give children money in an envelope on New Year's Day which continues on usually until around the age they can earn money on the road after this of course more eating and more drinking foreign so that's what it's like in Japan for New Year's with my Japanese in-laws if you guys like this video and hit that like button if you want to help support the channel check out the Tokyo merch and if you guys want to see more videos like this or anything related to Japan hit that subscribe button and the bell button and we'll catch you guys in the next one

Channel: Paolo fromTOKYO

Views: 1,421,980

Keywords: Paolo, Japan, Japan guide, tokyo guide, tokyo travel, life in japan, living in japan, international marriage, life in japan as a foreigner, Japanese in-laws, Japanese house, Japanese Home, japan home, living in japan countryside, Japanse New Year's, life in japan vlog, married in japan, japanese new years food, japanese new years eve, japanese new years traditions, Japanse New Years, japanese houses, japanese home tour, japan life, japanese family, Japanese culture

Id: jCxlkTVwx00

Length: 19min 42sec (1182 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 13 2023