Hatsumōde (初詣, hatsumōde) is the first Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine visit of the Japanese New Year. They often give thanks for the previous year and pray for the coming year be to a better one.
Suiren Shrine is happy to host our Hatsumode for the Year of the Rabbit!
Please join us for this small informal gathering to properly dispose of the previous year’s charms and gather new ones to prepare for the upcoming moons.
Hot pot will be provided in our social area, fortunetelling will be offered by one of our kannushi, and charms can be purchased from our shop. Come warm up under our numerous kotatsu!
Next up for today's New Year festivities - hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the year. Kiku has entered from the torii gate.
During these shrine visits, it's common to obtain omamori, which are good luck charms. It’s customary to bring the previous year’s charms to a major shrine or temple in the new year for the ceremonial burning. A year of bad luck awaits those who keep old charms for another year. Fortunately, Kiku deposited last year’s charms and has new ones!
I don't know if anyone wants this kind of content, but New Years is the most important holiday in Japan, and generally you're supposed to go to 初詣, hatsumoude, the first Shrine visit of the year, within the first few days of January (later is fine too though).
I don't pray a lot and I'm not Shinto obviously, but I do visit shrines at certain important times. After I prayed today, I immediately saw a kingfisher!
Kingfishers don't really live in my region and it's only the second time in my life that I've ever seen one. Felt really 縁起がいい, engi ga ii, auspicious, and I teared up tbh.
My phone cost as much as a calculator so its camera sucks, but the kingfisher was only about 2 meters away from me and it was beautiful.
Here's a little poem I wrote more than 3 years ago, right after the first time I ever saw one
How to enjoy the year end and new year days in Japan!!
How to enjoy the year end and new year days in Japan!!
Hi I’m Nobu, I like traveling overseas and in Japan, visited 26 countries!
I’m a National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter of English for 10 years.
For the people who are interested in and planning trip to Japan ,I show you hidden local information which you have never seen and heard of through books and ordinary site!
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