One of the things I noticed during this trip was that komatsuna is getting more and more popular. When I was a child, it was called “mochina” in our area and we ate it only for new year in mochi soup. Now it is sold year-round everywhere. It was even served as one of the
As per Japanese tradition, February 2nd is the day to ward off evil spirit and bring in fortune. At home, people throw roasted soybeans saying, “demons out, fortune in!” Many shrines throw packets of beans to visitors to wish them fortune. I visited a nearby shrine and received a couple of packets. One of them
