What is New Year's Eve called in Japan?

New Year's Eve in Japan is called Ōmisoka.

Ōmisoka is one of the most important annual observances in Japan and is celebrated on December 31. Families commonly use the day to finish preparations for the new year, clean their homes, and share a final meal of the old year. The observance leads into Shōgatsu, the Japanese New Year period.

At Buddhist temples, the Joya no Kane ceremony traditionally rings bells 108 times around midnight. The number represents the worldly desires or afflictions that people are taught to overcome. Many people also eat soba noodles, often called toshikoshi soba, whose long shape symbolizes longevity and the crossing from one year to the next.

Ōmisoka is not the same as Setsubun, which is a seasonal festival usually held in early February. Obon is a separate Buddhist-influenced period honoring ancestors, while Shōgatsu refers to the New Year celebration rather than New Year's Eve itself.