2017 rings in across Japan as shrine, temple throngs pray for good year
As people across Japan celebrated the turn of the year, they flocked to shrines and temples Sunday morning for their traditional hatsumode pilgrimage to make a fresh start on New Year's Day. Meaning "the first prayer of the year," hatsumode witnesses hundred of thousands of ...
Head to your local shrine or temple this new year
The sounds of joya-no-kane, the traditional ringing of temple bells 108 times on New Year's Eve, will soon fill the air as Japan gets set for one of its biggest holidays. For those who haven't been here long, New Year's Eve in Japan is a ...
Spirits, turnout high as New Year's crowds throng to shrines, temples
People wishing to make a fresh start on New Year's flocked to major shrines and temples across the archipelago Friday morning in the annual ritual known as hatsumode (first visit of the year). Major destinations of wish-makers, including Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, Ise Shrine in ...
Getting the year's first prayer in
Whether we are Buddhists, followers of Shintoism or atheists, the first thing many Japanese do on ganjitsu (New Year's Day) is go to their local shrine or temple for hatsumōde, a symbolic first visit of the year. If it's not done on Jan. 1, ...
Thousands make the annual "hatsumode" trip to shrines and temples nationwide to give offerings and pray for good fortune in the new year.
