Izumo Taisha Kyoto Branch 37-5 Shimoyata-cho Nakayama, Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture Izumo Taisha Kyoto Branch is a branch of Izumo Taisha in Shimane Prefecture, located in Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture. The shrine enshrines Ōkuninushi-no-Ōkami, widely revered as the kami of matchmaking and the god of good fortune.

Izumo Daijingu Shrine "Izumo Daijingu" Chitose-cho, Chitose Goda, no street number, Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture Izumo Daijingu Shrine (Izumo Daijingu) is a shrine located in Chitose-cho, Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture. It is listed in the Engishiki as a Myojin Taisha and serves as the ichinomiya of Tanba Province. The shrine held the former rank of Kokuhei Chusha and is now an independent shrine not affiliated with the Association of Shinto Shrines. Its former name was Izumo Shrine. It is also referred to as Moto Izumo and Millennium Shrine.

Takakura Jinja 2283 Higashi Ashida, Aogaki-cho, Tamba City, Hyogo Prefecture Start the New Year smiling with an extra-large omikuji. Takakura Jinja in Higashi Ashida, Aogaki-cho, Tamba City, Hyogo Prefecture will begin handing out omikuji larger than an opened newspaper from 12:00 a.m. on January 1. Visitors draw the fortune by shaking a cylinder about the height of a child and pulling it out. “Come with family and friends and take home great fortune and laughter,” they say. The offering runs through January 4. The omikuji measures A1 size: 59.4 cm tall and 84.1 cm wide. It claims to be the largest omikuji in Japan. Making use of its size, the fortunes are divided into detailed categories. For example, “love” is broken down into meeting someone ▽ unrequited love ▽ marriage prospects ▽ being popular ▽ dates ▽ compatibility.

Notice: Wakanoura Promenade Closed to Traffic As of January 2, 2026 A large landslide has occurred, and the promenade is currently closed to all traffic. The timetable for reopening is not yet determined. We apologize for the inconvenience and ask for your understanding and cooperation to ensure safety.

Happy New Year! 🎍 I look forward to your continued support this year. I updated the first blooming status of the daffodils for the new year 🌼! See the blog for details 👇 Wishing everything goes smoothly this year… 🐎✨ https://www.shimoda-city.info/post/20260102...

Photographed on January 1, 2014. After visiting Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, I relaxed at the Starbucks Kanetsuki‑dōri Store. I had a gyokuro matcha latte and a rich matcha tiramisu. I fully enjoyed the New Year atmosphere. 🍵🎍

You’ve probably heard the beloved song “Watarase Bridge” by female singer Chisato Moritaka at least once. Beyond its melody, the wistful lyrics draw you into the song’s world. Has it already been 40 years? It was one of my favorite songs, and it brought me to tears. Watarase Bridge is in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture. This photo was taken slightly to the east, from Sano, Tochigi Prefecture. On New Year’s Day at dawn, I saw Mount Fuji from the Watarase River. It was Mount Fuji at the first sunrise of the year. Mount Fuji capped with snow makes a wonderful sight.

It is about 6:00 a.m. at Kawagoe Kumano Shrine.

Yasaka Shrine 625 Gionmachi Kitagawa, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture Yasaka Shrine is the head shrine of roughly 2,300 Yasaka shrines and other shrines nationwide that enshrine Susanoo-no-Mikoto. Known as “Gion-san,” Yasaka Shrine is famed for blessings such as warding off bad luck, matchmaking, and beauty, and its charms, oil-absorbing papers, and other amulets are popular. It is also famous for hosting the Gion Matsuri and is widely cherished as a focal point of Kyoto tourism. Adjacent Maruyama Park is designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty, and in spring it bustles as Kyoto’s premier cherry‑blossom viewing spot centered on the Gion Shidarezakura. In autumn, together with nearby Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Kodaiji Temple, it is enjoyed as a renowned autumn foliage site.

New Year Greetings Happy New Year. We sincerely thank you for your warm support and cooperation in promoting the charms of Tsukigase over the past year. Tsukigase, which has grown alongside its plum trees, reveals a new face with each season and has nurtured itself as a countryside that quietly soothes the hearts of its visitors. This year as well, we hope it remains a place where nature and people live side by side and calm exchanges flourish. The annual Tsukigase Baikei Plum Festival, which heralds the arrival of spring, will be held again this year. Some 13,000 plum trees paint the mountainside, and with river mist rising in the valleys, a scene like a page from a picture scroll unfolds. During the festival, you can stroll the walking trails and enjoy locally made specialties for sale, savoring peaceful moments close to nature. The gentle scent of plum blossoms swaying in the breeze will quietly restore energy to bodies and minds that have passed through a long winter. This year, the Tsukigase Tourism Association will continue to cherish warm connections with visitors while protecting the region’s attractions. We ask for your continued support, and we sincerely pray that the coming year will be peaceful and fruitful for everyone. With that, we offer our New Year greetings. Chairman: Toshiaki Nishioka Photo credit: Kuraya eto Shuji

Zenjuan, a subtemple of Kennin-ji Temple in Kyoto known as the “Boar Temple,” houses Marishisonten-dō Hall, revered for bringing good luck and victory. 146 Komatsucho, 4-chome, Shijo Sagaru, Yamatooji-dori, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City Zenjuan was founded by the visiting monk Seisetsu Shōchō (also read Seisetsu Masazumi/Daikan Zenji) from Yuan and serves as a subtemple of the Rinzai school’s Kennin-ji branch. Marishi-ten, enshrined on the temple grounds as the monk’s future guardian deity, attracts many worshippers from near and far for its reputed benefits of good fortune and victory, and is counted as one of Japan’s three great Marishi-ten sites.

kyoto ebisu shrine 125 Komatsucho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture In Kyoto there is a shrine where visitors throw offerings upward to get them into the offertory box. That shrine, located in Gion, is the ebisu shrine (Ebisu Shrine), and for some reason an offertory box is installed above the torii gate... The Toka Ebisu festival at Kyoto Ebisu Shrine is held over five days each year from January 8 (Thursday) to January 12 (Monday). It is believed to bring blessings for prosperous business and traffic safety, and the shrine is affectionately known locally as “Kyo no Ebessan.”

Snow Trees Rime ice covering the trees at Gozaisho Ropeway Summit. One of the few places in Mie Prefecture where you can see rime ice on trees. Gozaisho Ropeway, Komonocho, Mie Prefecture

I woke up early to visit the shrine for my first prayers of the year. This is the Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine’s Kawagoe sweet potato fortune. 🍠 I received a New Year’s morning ceremony blessing, and fortunately I was also given a matchmaking charm. I hope good things come to you in a chain like sweet potato vines. 😊🍠

🎍 Happy New Year! 🐎

Happy New Year! This year I again photographed the first sunrise from the waterfront park. There was no wind and it was not as cold as in past years, but a warm layer of clouds on the horizon kept the sky dull and dim even after the scheduled sunrise time of 6:51. Around 7:05 the edges of the clouds began to glow, and just after 7:20 the sun finally appeared! As every year, many residents and tourists gathered early at the waterfront park to watch the first sunrise of Reiwa 8. May Reiwa 8 bring you a year full of happiness. We appreciate your continued support of Atami Onsen this year as well.

Happy New Year! 🎍🐎 Wishing you a wonderful year ahead.

A hidden flower field in Fukuoka that only those in the know visit. Many grandfathers and grandmothers from local day service providers came to see it.

I went to the Maebashi Autumn Festival. I took photos of the children taking a break from pulling the floats. They were making a big fuss, shouting, "Take a picture of me!"

Autumn in Ranzan, Saitama Prefecture. Here you can find a low-water bridge without railings, like the submerged bridges seen on the Shimanto River in Shikoku. It’s a rare sight in the Kanto region.

These are guests from abroad relaxing in the boat houses of Inecho, Kyoto Prefecture. You can also enjoy fishing from the inn's rooms. The photos were taken in September.

A shot at Misen Main Hall on the summit of MtMisen in Hiroshima Prefecture. I planned to walk to the top, but I ended up taking the ropeway. Even so, I’m smiling. Next time I’ll come by proper hike. This jizo statue is called "Gomen-ne Jizo" or "Negai Jizo." It’s a presence that accepts people’s regrets and wishes.

On a clear autumn day, a leisurely, blissful moment gazing out over Osaka Bay from Iwaya Beach on Awaji Island.

After the Nagasaki Kunchi ended, a child walked home alone, still holding an umbrella as if lingering in the festival's afterglow.

In Saitama's Minuma Tambo, an annual rice-harvesting experience takes place. Everyone enjoyed the chance to connect with nature.

This is the famous stone bridge at Tokyo’s Rikugien Gardens. After the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign models began lining up to cross it.

The autumn Karatsu Kunchi floats have arrived. It is already evening. The children are starting to show their fatigue. "I want to go home already~"

I photographed a group of young people wandering the Tottori Sand Dunes in autumn, captured as silhouettes.