table of contents
1. JUNNI
The first site I'd like to introduce is a New Year's greeting site created by JUNNI. It starts with the tagline, "Please accept this New Year's gift from JUNNI," and when you click the "Receive New Year's Gift" button, a New Year's gift envelope floats up in the center of the screen. If you click and hold the envelope and shake it left, right, up, and down, the bills will continue to fly around endlessly, and the "Total New Year's Gift" counter at the bottom of the screen will keep increasing.
The concept is certainly interesting, but the intricate gimmicks, which are typical of JUNNI's style, are also appealing. When you shake the New Year's money, Jun-kun jumps, and a sun with the JUNNI company's vision, "Be free, be unique," written on it, rises from the mountains in the background. The sight of the banknotes fluttering across the screen is breathtaking, and the excitement of receiving New Year's money is wonderfully expressed through both the visuals and the gameplay. It would be amazing to receive this much New Year's money!
Happy New Year 2026 | A New Year's gift from JUNNI
2. Spicato
One site that shares a common feature in its diverse gimmicks is Spicato's New Year's greeting site, "Spicato's Talking Daruma 2026." As the title "Talking Daruma" suggests, you can enjoy playing Daruma Otoshi (a traditional Japanese game where you knock down Daruma dolls) while listening to a Daruma doll man talk.
As you click and drop the pieces from top to bottom in order, a New Year's message will appear in the background. Each piece has a different color and pattern, and the sound it makes when dropped is also varied. Furthermore, there are six hidden gimmicks, and the game is designed to be helpful by offering hints for those who get stuck. There are also multiple conversation patterns, making it a game you'll want to play again and again.
This website, full of playful touches, is typical of Spicato, who are celebrating their 10th anniversary as a corporation. Be sure to play around with it with the sound on!
Spicato's Talking Daruma 2026 | New Year's Greetings Website
Director: Hiromi Maekawa
Planner, Designer, Illustrator, Writer Souka Takeuchi
Developer: Yuki Kanayama
Design support Yuko Inoue
Daruma (CV) ????
Music DOVA-SYNDROME,Demon Soul,sound effect lab
Special thanks to the Spicarto members!
3. Harajuku Sun-Ad
One example of a website that stands out for its strong message is the New Year's greeting site of Harajuku Sun-Ad, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The theme is the sun, in keeping with the company name "Sun."
As you scroll through the image of the sun positioned in the center of the screen, words like "rise," "up," and "UP" appear, accompanied by a succession of visuals evoking each word, such as the Earth at dawn, a classic print-style sun, a photograph of someone raising their hand, and sunlight rising from a mountaintop. The concept of "ascending" is visualized through a variety of expressions, and the video concludes with a 50th-anniversary message.
As they reach this milestone year, you can feel Harajuku Sun-Ad's determination to continue striving for even greater heights in the next half-century, and the rising sun effect is reminiscent of the first sunrise of the year, making it perfect for the new year.
NEW YEAR 2026 | Harajuku Sun-Ad
Staff
ECD: Koichi Shibata CD: Hitoshi Akasako
AD/D: Ryosuke Tsuda C: Naoyuki Okuno
PR: Chie Ishikawa, Kyung-Cheol Cho, Yu Kunii
4. Qlip
Qlip has created a striking representation of this year's zodiac animal. It begins with a large "馬" character composed of multiple small "午" characters.
As you scroll down, the slogan "GAME CHANGE" and its meaning are revealed, followed by a series of messages from the staff. Next to each message is a single kanji character formed from the same character "午" (uma). The way the characters rearrange to reveal the next kanji is beautiful. Finally, a horse running animation is added.
At the bottom of the page, there is a list of past New Year's greeting websites, giving a sense of the history that Qlip has built up year after year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026 – Qlip Co. Ltd.
NEW YEAR PROJECT CREW
Tomoya Okada (Design, Development)
Keita Hiroshige (Supervisor)
Kyohei Tokuo (Producer)
5. monopo
Monopo has transformed the zodiac sign of the horse into a wordplay called "UMAP." On their smartphone-only New Year's greeting site, under the concept of "Let's have a delicious meal together," CEO Tanaka and Clara have selected 26 restaurants around the monopo Tokyo office and are presenting them on a map.
Tapping the circled "+" displays the genre, who recommended it, and a description of the shop. The fact that it recommends places you can actually visit is a great feature.
There's also a lottery for those who received a physical New Year's card, and if you keep pressing the Mt. Fuji icon in the bottom right corner, you'll access the hidden content "FUJIMAP17." This is a report on Fuji Soba restaurants near the office, written by copywriter Inaguma, who worked at a soba restaurant for five years. The unique characteristics of each restaurant are described, making it an engaging read. It's a site that's fun to look at and fun to visit—a double treat!
6. unshift
Unshift has created an interactive New Year's greeting website. It's a 3D New Year's greeting site that you can operate using hand gestures with your camera.
When you open the site, a screen full of intricately intertwined red and yellow ribbons unfolds. The system allows you to enjoy different reactions depending on your gesture: clenching your fist shrinks it, raising your index finger enlarges it, moving your open hand from side to side scrolls it, and making a peace sign causes rapid movement.
The instructions for using the game are clear and easy to understand, so I encourage you to try it out and see for yourself what the final result will look like!
Happy New Year 2026 by unshift Inc.
7. SUPER SUPER
SUPER SUPER has created a retro-style New Year's greeting website. You can enjoy a horse-themed side-scrolling action game there.
Upon opening the site, you'll see a screen rendered in pixel art. Using the "Press SS to jump" controls, you can challenge yourself to see how far you can make your horse run while avoiding obstacles. The retro pixel art visuals and SUPER SUPER inc.'s signature yellow and black color scheme create a striking and memorable design.
It's simple yet incredibly addictive, so please give it a try and break your own record!
8. Bonus: Top 3 Graphics
Finally, as a bonus, I'll introduce some eye-catching graphic designs for New Year's cards!
Camp Inc., Mr. Ueki
This unique visual depicts a horse running using only your fingers. It's actually a GIF animation, conveying the horse's gallop as your fingers move. The combination of the idea and the Year of the Horse is wonderful.
NASU Co., Ltd.
The purple and white gradient of Nasu Fuji evokes the snow-covered peaks of Mount Fuji. Despite its eggplant motif, it possesses a dignified presence. Accompanied by NASU's resolution for this year, "Achieve through design," it is a simple yet memorable piece.
Art Director/Designer, Ms. Chida
The visual features a red and orange gradient with white lines. According to Chida, "I created the character using the kanji for 'horse,' and subtly incorporated '2026' into an abstract pattern of a horse's mane." The design skillfully blends elements of the year and the Year of the Horse into a modern and sophisticated atmosphere.
The end
All of the works featured here are filled with the playful spirit and technical skills of the creators! It's interesting to see how each one expresses New Year's greetings in a different way, whether through interactive features, game elements, or corporate messages.
New Year's greeting websites are sometimes only open for a limited time, so if you find a site that interests you, be sure to check it out as soon as possible.
I hope we'll encounter lots of wonderful creative works in 2026!
We look forward to your continued support of iDID this year!
