NPB Tracker

Today’s Japanese word of the day is Oshogatsu (お正月), which refers to New Year’s Day or the New Year.

Oshogatsu is a big deal in Japan. It’s easily the biggest holiday Japan celebrates, and the country largely shuts down for about a week while its citizens gather as families and take part in the traditional activities, such as visiting shrines and eating Osechi ryori.

Here’s an roundup how some NPB players spent Oshogatsu, all found via the very handy @npb_players Twitter feed.

• Orix pitcher Satoshi Komatsu celebrated his first Oshogatsu with his child.
• Recently-retired pitcher Kimiyasu Kudoh “wants to spend [his] days learning things and having experiences to elevate [himself].”
• Yu Darvish posted a brief New Year’s greeting, asking for unchanged support from his fans.
• Yakult pitcher Tatsuo Kinoshita wishes you a feliz ano nuevo from the Dominican, where he is currently training.
• NPB Tracker favorite Hayato Terahara‘s Oshogatsu meal included this sashimi ensemble.
• Rakuten ace Masahiro Tanaka was a guest judge in NHK’s annual Kohaku music event, where he was “touched by the many staff members who put the stage together, but don’t show up on TV.”
• Someone apparently posted a note on Yoshihisa Naruse’s blog saying that he was considering retirement as part of a false New Year’s Day message. I only saw Naruse’s follow up saying that it wasn’t him that wrote it, and he wants to try harder than ever this year.
• Kazumi Saito received a set of lighters custom engraved with characters from the One Piece anime as a gift from his father in law.