2025年01月17日
I made French Toast
I really enjoy cooking and recently I tried making something I had never made before - french toast! It turned out so good!
2025年01月17日
Shrine Visit
I recently took a short trip on New Years Day to a local shrine called Ubushina (in Utazu where I live) to ring in the new year. The first visit to a shrine during New Years is called Hatsumode in Japan.
The procedure to make a small financial offering for good wishes for the New Year typically involves the following:
1. Walking up to the main hall entrance and bowing (respect).
2. Clapping your hands twice (to wake up the gods).
3. Throwing in a small monetary donation (usually small coins - 5 yen coins are best since 5 is considered a lucky number here in Japan),.
4. Saying a small, silent prayer.
5. Clapping twice again (to notify the gods you are finished).
6. Taking one step back, and then bow again and leave.
You can also purchase, for a small fee, a fortune card predicting your upcoming year; although it is only written in the Japanese language. Visiting shrines in Japan are done at various times of the year, but New Years is a special time with most Japanese people paying a respectful visit to their local shrine. This was a simple and pleasant experience that added to my cultural learnings about Japan. I enjoyed it very much.
