This year, on January
1st, I did hatsumode, or
first shrine visit of the year, with my friend. It was my first time to go to a
shrine in Japan and it was an interesting first experience. We went to Asakusa,
to one of the most famous shrines in Tokyo and since it was the first day of
the new year, when most people do hatsumode,
it was incredibly crowded. There were so many people that the line went out
past the shrine and into the street, probably a half a mile long. The first
picture was taken while I was standing in line. The second picture is of my
friend teaching me how to cleanse ourselves before entering the shrine. And the
third picture is one that I took from the top of the shrine’s steps. You can
get a feel for how large the crowd was. There were a lot of rules for how you
should offer money and how much money you should offer and I had to practice
many times before I could get it right. Even though it was a little stressful, it
was a good experience and I am glad that I went. After bowing in front of the
shrine and making a wish, I got to take a fortune, or omikuji which can be seen in the forth picture. I actually got the
best one, which is daikichi or good
fortune. After we were finished at the shrine, we got to enjoy a lot of
delicious festival foods, including the candied apples that can be seen in the
last picture.
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