To me, the first posting of the year has got to be on this zoni soup (or "Ozoni", called in a politer way) which my auntie cooks for us on January 1st every year.
Different areas (and households) of Japan have different recipes of zoni to celebrate the start of new years, and the one my aunt has is that of Kanto region.
In the clear soup using the kombu and katsuo stock, she puts slightly grilled mochi rice cake (square type: in some other regions, they use round type mochi), chicken, pink and white kamaboko (the combination of red and white colors are believed to bring good fortunes), narutomaki, spinach, and so forth. If you happen to be at someone's house in Japan on January 1st, check out this tasty soup and wish for the well-being of you and the ones you love.
