A new decade dawns, heralding the start of a very big year for Japan and its rat-folk.

It’s been a busy year of news here in Japan, with heartbreaking events, the historic abdication of Emperor Akihito, and unexpected marriages and happy births ranking amongst some of the top stories for the last year of the 2010s.

Now as we enter the 2020s, we have the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and the new Ghibli Park opening on the horizon, promising an even bigger decade of news and events from the land of the Rising Sun.

So while we gear up for another year of daily reporting on all things Japan-related, our team will be taking a break today to spend some time with friends and family, recounting the Yoshiki x Kiss performance on Kohaku Uta Gassen and hunting down some of this year’s best fukubukuro for you to enjoy.

As we welcome in the Year of the Rat, we’d like to take a moment to thank you all for visiting our site over the past 12 months and being the best readers we could possibly wish for. We’ll be back with more stories for you tomorrow so until then enjoy the first day of the new decade and have a happy and prosperous New Year!

Top image: © SoraNews24