Happy New Year!
We began the new year with our first hike of the year up Mt. Senjo, the mountain behind our home. Watching the first sunrise from the summit, surrounded by quiet and pure air, the curtain rose on a new year.
For us, this year is a truly special one, as Guesthouse COZY is finally beginning its journey. Fitting for such a new start, we were blessed with fine weather and welcomed a warm, gentle sunrise.
Local residents also gathered on the mountain, and together we paid our respects to the deity Marishiten. Being able to welcome the New Year alongside the local community once again made us feel deeply grateful for these connections.
The first three days of the New Year are filled with many celebratory events.
A traditional lion dance was performed as part of a jigatame-mawari ritual to purify the land and ward off evil spirits, praying for the health and happiness of everyone who will visit this guesthouse.
We also paid our first New Year’s visit to Kumano Hongu Taisha.
別表現：
In the land of Kumano, many deities are watching over us.
The character of the year for us is “Smile.”
Welcoming our guests with a smile and sending them off with a smile.
And we hope to make this a year in which we ourselves can always smile.
Thanks to the kindness of the local community, we were also treated to a traditional mochi-making ceremony, where our new beginning was celebrated in a wonderful and generous way.
They also brought freshly hunted wild boar from the end of the year, and we all gathered around for a shishi-nabe hot pot party. Winter boar is especially rich and flavorful, and it was truly delicious.
We are filled with gratitude for the warmth and kindness of the local community, whose care and support for others know no bounds.
It has become a precious memory that we will surely never forget.
