On the 11th of January, we had mochi tsuki taikai (餅つき大会) at Matsumoto castle.  Mochi tsuki is the making of rice cakes from a glutenous rice.  We used an usu (the pounding bowl) from the Edo era (at least 150 years old).  Lots of fun, lots of mochi!  Take a look at the pics in the gallery!  The TV news picked it up, and you can see their website here.

Hope you'll be able to come and join us in our activities for 2010!  Happy New Year!