This mochi soup has round mochi in it, this one has rectangular mochi, and the mochi in this one is fried.

There are so many different ways that people all over the country prepare mochi for their soup.

The mochi soup… It's sooo tasty and sweet! I wanna pound it into a doggy bag to take home! Thank you very mochi!

Looks like Ai's in top form.

This one here is adzuki red bean soup, right? I never realized that some places put adzuki in their mochi soup.

That's so like Hanayo to make all kinds of regional versions!

*Giggle* I followed recipes to make them. Obviously, the best thing would be to go to the places themselves to try their versions, but this is almost as good.

*Chuckle* All of us should travel around to do just that someday.

That's fascinating! I'm amazed by how there's so many versions from place to place, even though it's all the same dish. Is this mochi here for the soup, too?

Nope! The mochi there is just in case we wanted to eat a little more of it after we finish our soup.

I thought it might be more fun to have a bunch of different flavorings, so we have roasted soy flour, grated radish, soy sauce, sugar, miso, butter…

Oh, to serve as toppings? It's kind of like a mochi buffet, then. Hanayo, you never cease to amaze with your ideas. Just think, eating even more mochi after mochi soup!

*Sigh* I feel so blessed, zura. Hanayo looks exactly like a harvest goddess to me right now!

It was the right choice to change out of our furisode, for sure. Now we can eat as much food as we can possibly stomach. Including all the mochi!

If I eat too much, though, my stomach's gonna end up pooching out again.

No worries on that front. School idol practice will start up again before you know it.

I guess so. Okay then! That means it's fine if I dig into the mochi buffet.

Time to take a bite! Wait, Kanata, aren't you going to have some?

I am! I am, really. It's just that things don't feel as festive for New Year's anymore now that we took our kimonos off, and I'm a little sad about it.

Is that all? You don't need to get down about that. I'll dress you up in a kimono any time you like!

Oho! That gives me a good idea.

Hanamaru, lean in close, okay? *Whisper*

Yes, yes. Ohhh, I see! So that's your plan, zura.

What are you two talking about?

Listen up, everyone! Riko just thought of a great idea, zura.

So, what do you girls think about doing another first shrine visit of the year, but doing it Uranohoshi style?

What does “Uranohoshi style” mean? Is there a particular shrine you girls go to visit?

*Chuckle* You'll just have to wait and see what happens when you go.

You'll have a New Year's shrine visit that you'll never forget, even if you aren't wearing a furisode kimono. All of you had better come visit Uranohoshi next!