The end of New Years

 This is the shrine shop. They sell all sorts of amulets and things that are supposed to protect you or bring good luck. The boxes in front hold arrows, which are a traditional thing to bring home and put on the household shrine. Later in January you are supposed to bring all of the things from last year, which are now impure because they absorbed last years evils, to the shrine where they are burned in a special ceremony.

 This is the space in front of the main altar room of the shrine. You go up the stairs. There is room for three at a time here. First you throw a small coin into the gift box and then you bow twice. Next you grab the rope in front of you and shake the bell, the roundish objects under the eaves. Then you clap your hands twice, leaving them together to pray or let your mind go blank. Finally you bow twice and move off to the right, where you are given a rough, white ceramic dish with about a shot of sake, rice wine, in it. This is the first drink of the year.

 Next we went to the left of the altar and got our fortune for the year. You give 200 yen to the Shrine Maiden, who shakes a box of sticks and then hands you the box. You shake it and then tip it so that one of the sticks comes out the small hole in the top. This stick has a number on it which refers to the slip of paper with your fortune printed on it. The Shrine Maiden takes the paper from a rack and hands it to you. You move away and then stop to read it. The overall fortune comes in the following levels (from best to worst):
daikichi, kichi, chukichi, shokichi and aku. Both my wife and I got kichi. The small print gives comments about things like work, love life, school, travel, etc.

Most people, after reading the fortune, fold it a few times lengthwise and then tie it to a tree, or here a special bamboo branch. This is to let the gods know you fortune so they can act accordingly during the coming year.

Since we were now quite cold, we decided to go straight home. Some years we go around to two other shrines following the tradition of visiting three on New Year's Day.