In Japan it is common to visit a shrine first thing in the New Year. This shrine visit is called Hatsumōde. The Japanese usually visit the first, second, or third day of the New Year. For my hatsumode I visited the Geku Shrine in Ise located in the province of Mie. This is said to be one of the most famous shrines in Japan.
It took us about an hour on the JR (Japanese Railroad) to get from Nagoya to Ise. In Ise there are several shrines. One could wonder around Ise from sunrise to sunset. We decided to just hit one shrine, the Geku shrine.
When you first walk into the shrine you are required to cleanse hands using the bamboo buckets at the purification fountain. You collect some cleansing water in a cup, first rinse your left hand, then your right hand, then pour water into your left hand and use it to rinse your mouth. Then you are meant fill the cup up one last time and dump it backwards over the handle to clean the part you were holding.
We then walked into the incredibly busy shrine and paid our offering. At the offering hall you are meant to throw a coin or note into the offering box, bow, bow, wish, clap, clap, bow. Of course I could not pick up the order so I was bowing and clapping at random.
When we finished our offering we wondered the grounds around the shrine stumbling upon ducks, strange marked rocks and pet shrines.
On our way back to the train we stopped at an udon noodle shop to have some famous and delicious Ise Udon.
Hatsumode is a beautiful tradition and I'm glad I got to partake in it this year. Maybe I'll even obtain some good luck from my hatsumode!
It took us about an hour on the JR (Japanese Railroad) to get from Nagoya to Ise. In Ise there are several shrines. One could wonder around Ise from sunrise to sunset. We decided to just hit one shrine, the Geku shrine.
When you first walk into the shrine you are required to cleanse hands using the bamboo buckets at the purification fountain. You collect some cleansing water in a cup, first rinse your left hand, then your right hand, then pour water into your left hand and use it to rinse your mouth. Then you are meant fill the cup up one last time and dump it backwards over the handle to clean the part you were holding.
We then walked into the incredibly busy shrine and paid our offering. At the offering hall you are meant to throw a coin or note into the offering box, bow, bow, wish, clap, clap, bow. Of course I could not pick up the order so I was bowing and clapping at random.
When we finished our offering we wondered the grounds around the shrine stumbling upon ducks, strange marked rocks and pet shrines.
On our way back to the train we stopped at an udon noodle shop to have some famous and delicious Ise Udon.
Hatsumode is a beautiful tradition and I'm glad I got to partake in it this year. Maybe I'll even obtain some good luck from my hatsumode!
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