New Year's is a more important holiday in Japan than Christmas is. There's an assortment of traditional food and games associated with the festivals. At midnight the temple bells are rung 108 times as per Buddhist tradition. There's a strong emphasis on the "first" of many things to occur in the new year- first temple visit, first sunrise, etc. It's customary to give children money as a gift for New Year's, in contrast to the Western Christmas traditions.

Any particular questions?