I hope someone knows whether any commercial areas or stores in Tokyo are open on January 1. If not, what's there to do on New Year's morning? We will be going with our 17 year old son who's interested in seeing some Japanese youth culture & commerce.

Most should be closed, except some convenience stores. What to do on Jan 1. If he is interested in Japanese culture, go visit shrines and temples that's what many do. Actually those places, at least famous ones, can be so crowded with the Jan 1st visitors. tey come to pray their resolution of the new year. That would be a great occasion for your son to glimpse a bit of Japanese culture. Commerce? Those religeous places usually have stands that sell hot snacks nearby.

Like this,

http://tokyoite.biz/year/01/hatumoud...ya/image01.jpg

or like this
http://gigazine.jp/img/2007/01/01/new_year/DSCN2147.JPG

This tradition of visiting temples / shrines on 1st jan is called " Hatsu - Modé "

Thanks kappa.
We will be visiting temples in Kyoto and was hoping that some electronic stores in Akihabara will be open on Jan 1 (the only day we'll be in Tokyo).

How about Shinjuku, Echika or Marunouchi Building?

DAX, I will see if I can find infos on Akihabara, Marunouchi, etc. I have already checked about big department stores. They will open on the 2nd.

I still think you should visit some main temple/shrine on Hatsu-Modé, Meiji Jingu Shrine e.g. It's a special day and you will see lots of people, especially girls/ladies in kimono that they don't wear it necessarily on other days.

Without really doing a research I think it's one of the rare days that the japanese are allowed not to work (otherwise, they work all the time). So let them have a break for once !

Neverthless I found the folling building are open on 1st of Jan. They all have shops and restaurants.

Ikebukuro Sunshine City : 60-floor bulding with shops, top observatory floor + acquarium, most seem open
Especially acces to the 60th floor observatory opens at 5:30 am for " new year sunrise watching"

Roppongi Hills : The newest sky scraper

Shinjuku Lumine : by Shinjuku Station South Exit

The temples on New Years day are a very different experience than other days. This is a big day for the locals to visit temples you really should try to pay a visit to one.

kappa, thanks for checking the facts for us, hopefully there is something open. We heard that Shibuya is the teenager area with pop culture (don't know what that really means), but it's probably not worth going if it's deserted on Jan 1.

How good/exciting is the view from the Tokio Tower?

The thought of walking through the sprawling cold forest to get to the Meiji Jingu shrine seems daunting in the winter. Will there be food & sake sold near the temple? We prefer people & culture over nature.

We saw some internet pictures of the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa which looks small,festive and lively. Anyone familiar with that temple? http://home.att.net/~mgdufresne/asakusapage1.htm
I wouldn't mind having some mochi or mochi soup if they sell them in/around the temples? Sorry if my questions are rather clueless, I don't know much about Tokyo at all even though I've been there once.
Please add more suggestions to this New Year's day thread. Thanks

<<We prefer culture & people over nature>>

Actually, since we can't speak or read Japanese, "We prefer food & culture over nature". Any fun place to eat for teenagers? As pathetic as it sounds, we don't eat sushi or any uncooked fish. We're thinking of any fun place for a good soba. I had some last month at Wagamama in Amsterdam. www.wagamama.com/

Any fun restaurant suggestions in Tokyo?

The "cold, sprawling forest" surrounding Meiji Jingu is really not that big. Ten minutes of slow walking, maybe??? I'm a wimp, and while it was a walk that will require good shoes, it really wasn't that much of a walk.

Listen to what these people are telling you -- you will see crowds and crowds of people at the shrines on New Year's Day. They will be dressed to the nines, and it will be something you won't see every day. You will be amazed!

And to accomodate these crowds, there will be lots of shops selling things to fortify the people. You will be able to find food, no problem. And I'm sure it'll all be cooked! You may want to buy hot drinks from the vending machines, and slip them in your pockets to keep your hands warm during the walk through the long dark forest (LOL!) though.

And, as a bonus, Meiji Jingu is right next to Harajuku, which used to be a huge teen center (don't know if it still is, but it's worth a look).

Things change in Japan. When I first came (OMG, 21 years ago now!) nothing was open for the first three days. But now, there are stores that are open on Jan. 1. Maybe they'll be convenience stores, but they will be open.

You don't mention here where you will be on the 2nd. That's when the big bargains are. Everywhere. So, even if you are in Kyoto, you should be able to find an electronics center near the station.

If you are in Tokyo on the 2nd of Jan, you should try and catch the Emperor at his New Year greeting. It's one of only two times a year you can get into see the inner parts of the Imperial Palace. See here for information on New Years in Tokyo

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2064.html

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2276.html

Aloha!

"sprawling forest" in Tokyo? It is a 5, maybe 10, minute walk on a very wide paved walkway. No hills. No, no food or sake on that path.

Ok, an author at wikipedia describes the 175 acres as an evergreen forest. Still it is a short walk to the shrine from the entrance at Harajuku.

Here are photos from my visit there, on my first day ever in Japan. It was Shichi-Go-San.
http://tinyurl.com/7fuc2u

Thanks to all for the good info, we were thinking of going to the Sensoji temple in Asakusa, but it seems that the Meiji may be a better choice especially with its proximity to Harajuku. Glad to hear that there will be plenty of food joints along the way.

Honestly your postings helped convince me to visit one temple even though I am not big on temples or churches. New Years day seems to be the one special day for people watching at the temples.

Be prepared for a BIG crowd at Meiji Jingu - the most visited shrine in Japan at the New Year. Over the first three days of January, they get over 3 million visitors!
There is a one-way system in place to regulate the crowd on paths to and from the shrine.
While there will be roten - stalls - selling hot and cold foods and drinks, the sheer size of crowd means there will be a lot of pushing and shoving and getting served may be a challenge, esp with no Japanese. I'd take some food myself, bought at a convenience store before arriving at the vicinity.

Thanks again for all your input, we decided to avoid the very popular Meiji Jinggu and visited the Sensoji temple instead. Some locals warned us that they would hesitate to visit even the Sensoji temple on New Year's day because the crowd could get really crazy.

We got to the temple before 9am as the stands were just opening so we could still buy mochi which had a long line even as the stand was still setting up. The seller was already in a bad mood by the time we got our turn. It was a bit like a scene from the Seinfeld soup nazi. The people in front of us left empty handed after he scolded them so we quickly pointed what we wanted and bought them without uttering a word. It was interesting trying all the unusual foods from whole fish on a stick to octopus pancake. The whole area became incredibly crowded within the hour so we got out and were happy to find a Yoshinoya diner as we are familiar with its beef bowl chain in California.