あけましておめでとうございます！

AKA: Happy New Year!

The New Year is a big deal in Japan. Last year, I mentioned, briefly, the levels of politeness required when you meet someone for the first time in the new year. At that time, I was rather confused as to what to do - I hadn't prepared for saying "Happy New Year" several days after the new year had come. This year, I was ready.

So, steps for entering the workplace on the first day back:

1. Get there early. Fewer people, fewer greetings, and you can just stand up, bow, and mumble every time someone new comes in the office. Ahhh, how the tables have turned!

2. Enter through door closest to highest-ranking office member - principal, president...whomever. Say "Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu. Kotoshimo yoroshiku onegaishimasu" ("Happy New Year. Please be kind to me again this year"), bowing all the while.

3. Repeat for next senior member. And the next. And the next. In fact, repeat for every person you run into.

4. Sit down at your desk some 20 minutes later; faint.

OK, maybe not 20 minutes, but you can see how this would cause for some traffic jams when first coming into the office.

In other news, I'm awful about updating. I'm planning on spending most of my day today catching up on das Internet, so I will hopefully have more things for you soon.

So, to one and all - Happy New Year!