Temple Visit

People visit a shrine or a temple in the first three days of the new year. We go to Jindai Temple.

There, they build a wooden ramp over the stairs during the holidays.

There are slats of wood and straw on the ramp to make it easier to walk up to the temple grounds.

The main temple building is draped in colorful flags for the holidays.

People move to the front of this temple building to throw money and to pray. Usually there is a big wooden box where people toss coins. Because there are so many people at New Year's, a big space is made with big bamboo poles and white cloth.

A monk walked into the picture I was taking. He was walking from one building to another to hold a prayer service. There was a pond below.

Good luck items are sold here. I'll post a picture later of the ones Papa bought. We also bought fortunes and tied them to the tree. Little Brother thought we shouldn't take pictures of them.

This is where you throw the good luck items from last year. Usually there is a fire to toss them into. This year people threw them into this small shed. It was built especially for them. The temple will dispose of them later.

We usually eat soba at a restaurant near here. There are many soba shops here. This place is known for its hand-made soba.