鏡餅 / Kagami mochi

鏡餅是日本新年的習俗之一。鏡餅是將平坦圓餅狀的年糕大小各一堆疊在一起的形狀，有「重複圓滿的一年」的含義。用來祈願新的一年的健康與幸福，裝飾於室內。約從11月開始超市以外連百元店都可以買得到鏡餅，做為土產購買也是一個不錯的選擇。鏡餅因為是真空包裝所以可以長期保存。

Kagami mochi is a traditional New Year's custom. "Kagami" means mirror and "mochi" means rice cake. As the shape of an ancient mirror was round, Kagami mochi uses two round rice cakes of different sizes, with the smaller one being put on the bigger. During the New Year period, it is displayed in houses. The reason for this is the hope that a house and the people within it have a peaceful and happy year. The round shape literally stands for peaceful in Japanese. From November, you can find Kagami mochi products at supermarkets or 100yen shops. They might be a good souvenirs for travelers, and vacuum-packs allow them to be kept for a good length of time.