This is one of those Japanese traditions. (Pardon the rough edits to remove private information.)
You can use regular rice, but it takes more muscle work and more time, and mochi rice tastes different, has a different texture, and a different chewiness. (Texture + chewiness == mouthfeel?) So my wife sent me to splurge a little on mochi rice yesterday. JPY 500 for 1.2 Kg (2.6 pounds).
She added pearled barley to the rice when she cooked it up today. Proto-B vitamin amino acids and fiber, to help offset the tendency for this to raise your blood sugar.
Then she got out the big pestle.
That's it resting against the side of the pan. I didn't get any pictures of either me or her using it. We were careful not to damage the surface of the rice cooker pan.
Many people would use a machine. At mochi-tsuki parties, they use a big mallet with a head as long as my forearm and twice as big around instead of a pestle, and, instead of a bowl or pan, a mortar made of a hollowed out tree trunk about a half-meter (foot and a half) wide.
One person swings the mallet, another rolls the mochi, and you have to get the rhythm right or someone gets hurt. It's a rite of trust.
My daughter helped form the cakes.
I rolled one in oatmeal and kinako (bean flour). It wasn't bad.
Happy New Year!
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Courtesy is courteous.