Jan 24 2020

New Year’s Party for 2020 was held at Niigata University International House on Saturday, January 11, 2020. The party has been held since 2001 by citizen volunteers, Niigata University graduates and the people from the university in order for international students to enjoy celebrating a new year in a traditional Japanese way. Approximately 80 people participated including students of Niigata University Volunteer Club and international students from all over the world, such as China and Russia.

At the party, international students tried Kakizome, first calligraphy written in the new year, which was challenging for some of them using brush pens, followed by Mochitsuki, pounding rice to make rice cakes. They enjoyed "ozoni", Japanese traditional New Year's soup dish. After having Japanese food for lunch, the international students played Karuta-tori, Japanese card game, as well as appreciated some music played by the local residents with traditional Japanese instruments.

We hope the party helped our international students experience Japanese culture.

Kakizome - first calligraphy in the year

International students playing Karuta-tori