Hatsumode 2011

Hatsumode is very important in Japan - it is the first shrine visit of the New Year.  I wanted to go to a shrine at the beginning of the year but I got sick so I finally went on 10th.  It was a really good day to go since it was also a national holiday "Coming of Age Day" which means that at the temple there were a bunch of 20 year olds dressed in beautiful outfits.  I went to Nagoya's Atsuta Shrine which is one of the most famous shrines in Japan.  It is supposed to house the legendary Kusanagi sword (one of the three imperial regalia of Japan).  The shrine was established around 2000 years ago.

The shrine grounds are huge (200,000 square meters).  At each entrance, stands a torii:

 There are lots of trees and even in the winter, it is quite green:

 In this place, people bring their old charms from last year to the temple to be burned:

 There were tons of people there!

 Here are some 20 year old girls in their special kimonos for the Coming of Age day:

 This is the main prayer building at the shrine:

 They had a large plastic sheet covering the floor in front of the building to catch all the coins that people throw before they pray in the new year.

 They were also selling quite a number of charms:

 Very nice wooden building and another 20 year old girl posing for pictures:

 Another girl:

 On the side of the main path are smaller houses (shrines?):

 This is a really really large sword housed in one of the buildings (a museum of sorts - I didn't go in further):

 Map of the temple grounds:

 This is a view towards one of the entrances - you can seem quite a number of food stalls on the side.

 I decided to buy some pastry which turned out to be basically like waffle stuffed with hot red bean paste - very very tasty!

 Another torii gate at a different entrance:

 Another prayer hall:

 I finally decided to try this fish that I saw often in food stalls... basically it turned out to be the same as that pastry I had before.. tasted like waffle with red bean paste inside, shaped like a fish.  It was tasty!

 I stood in that line for about 20minutes to buy that fish!

 I hadn't eaten lunch so I bought this okonomiyaki at a food stall and ate it by the pathway - it was good.

 Yet another torii at an entrance to the shrine.

 This is the charm I bought at the shrine - especially for the new year.  It is supposed to bring good luck to your home!  Bunnies!

 Atsuta jingu (熱田神宮) - the name "Atsuta Shrine" in kanji: