Decided to donate some clothes I wasn't wearing anymore over the weekend so I decided to go to the Second Street in Minami-Senju. Managed to find some cool stuff along the way. I was walking from Minowabashi and saw this nice looking temple, apparently called Koshunin (公春院). It was a really lovely spot and I would have liked to take more photos but I had some luggage with me and also wanted to avoid taking any photos of the tombstones as I thought it might be rude. It seems the temple focus on memorial services though and looked like a nice place. The next spot I came across was just a really small shrine that seemed so randomly placed that I wanted to take a picture of it. There wasn't much space inside the shrine are so it was quite difficult to get a decent photo, but I did the best that I could and tried to take a photo from the side street next to it which was also incredibly narrow lol. The last thing I ended up finding was a statue of Matsuo Basho! I'd not been to Minami-Senju as I've never really had a reason to go there, but I saw the statue from the corner of my eye and thought "Hmm I wonder if that's Basho" and sure enough it was. It even has "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" (奥の細道) written below it. Also, apparently there is debate about which "Senju" he started at (Adachi or Arakawa), so this is one of the statues depicting the place where he started his journey! It ended up being a pretty interesting walk. I'd like to visit the area again as there was a ton of cool stuff.

Yahiko Shrine in Niigata Prefecture Every year in June, the Kaya no wa Festival is held. We visit you every year to exorcise disasters

The autumn festival was held around Mt. Fuji Hongu Sengen Taisha Shrine in Fujinomiya City on 3.4.5 of November every year, but I missed it last year and the year before last, this year!

First visit at Meiji Jingu Camera: canon eos40d Lens: TAMRON XR Di II We also do Twitter and Instagram, so please follow us! Both have an account ID etuko_photos!!

From the snowy Meiji Jingu Shrine. Camera: canon eos40d Lens: TAMRON XR Di II We also do Twitter and Instagram, so please follow us! Both have an account ID etuko_photos!!

I usually visit my hometown for the first time, but when I went to the Himeji Manto Festival, an event that has been going on since 1978, I was surprised by the number of lanterns. Since tripods are prohibited, I took a picture so as not to disturb the worshippers.

I usually visit my hometown for the first time, but when I went to the Himeji Manto Festival, an event that has been going on since 1978, I was surprised by the number of lanterns. Since tripods are prohibited, I took a hand-held photo so as not to disturb the worshippers.

I usually visit my hometown for the first time, but when I went to the Himeji Manto Festival, an event that has been going on since 1978, I was surprised by the number of lanterns. Since tripods are prohibited, I took a hand-held photo so as not to disturb the worshippers.

I usually visit my hometown for the first time, but when I went to the Himeji Manto Festival, an event that has been going on since 1978, I was surprised by the number of lanterns. Since tripods are prohibited, I took a hand-held photo so as not to disturb the worshippers.

I usually visit my hometown for the first time, but when I went to the Himeji Manto Festival, an event that has been going on since 1978, I was surprised by the number of lanterns. Since tripods are prohibited, I took a hand-held photo so as not to disturb the worshippers.

"New Year's Day to God" First visit to Kasuga Shrine

"The End of the Flame Dance" Demon of Dazaifu Tenmangu One of the three major fire festivals in Japan. It is said that it was started in the 2nd year of Kanwa (986) by Sugawara no Michishinko's great-grandson Sugawara no Michishinko. It is a sacred ritual of extinguishing calamity and fire to exterminate demons, which is a symbol of calamity, It is a festival where many worshippers pray for happiness for the whole year to the huge flame that burns every year.

"Fire and smoke scorched the demon" Demon of Dazaifu Tenmangu One of the three major fire festivals in Japan. It is said that it was started in the 2nd year of Kanwa (986) by Sugawara no Michishinko's great-grandson Sugawara no Michishinko. It is a sacred ritual of extinguishing calamity and fire to exterminate demons, which is a symbol of calamity, It is a festival where many worshippers pray for happiness for the whole year to the huge flame that burns every year.

"The Great Fan of the Smoker" Demon of Dazaifu Tenmangu One of the three major fire festivals in Japan. It is said that it was started in the 2nd year of Kanwa (986) by Sugawara no Michishinko's great-grandson Sugawara no Michishinko. It is a sacred ritual of extinguishing calamity and fire to exterminate demons, which is a symbol of calamity, It is a festival where many worshippers pray for happiness for the whole year to the huge flame that burns every year.

"One Heart" Demon of Dazaifu Tenmangu One of the three major fire festivals in Japan. It is said that it was started in the 2nd year of Kanwa (986) by Sugawara no Michishinko's great-grandson Sugawara no Michishinko. It is a sacred ritual of extinguishing calamity and fire to exterminate demons, which is a symbol of calamity, It is a festival where many worshippers pray for happiness for the whole year to the huge flame that burns every year.

"Go to Taiko Bridge" Demon of Dazaifu Tenmangu One of the three major fire festivals in Japan. It is said that it was started in the 2nd year of Kanwa (986) by Sugawara no Michishinko's great-grandson Sugawara no Michishinko. It is a sacred ritual of extinguishing calamity and fire to exterminate demons, which is a symbol of calamity, It is a festival where many worshippers pray for happiness for the whole year to the huge flame that burns every year.

"The Beginning of the Flame Dance" Onisube One of the three major fire festivals in Japan. It is said that it was started in the 2nd year of Kanwa (986) by Sugawara no Michishinko's great-grandson Sugawara no Michishinko. It is a sacred ritual of extinguishing calamity and fire to exterminate demons, which is a symbol of calamity, It is a festival where many worshippers pray for happiness for the whole year to the huge flame that burns every year.

Demon chase ceremony event in Inami Town, Hyogo Prefecture Spark soot covers your head and sometimes burns and the camera is covered in soot. I released the shutter at the right time with the settings that matched the strobe of the surrounding side.

Demon chase ceremony event in Inami Town, Hyogo Prefecture It is a small local festival held on February 9th and 10th every year, but everyone is desperate to catch the sparks thrown by the mochi and demons. And my daughter cried when she saw this demon.

Demon chase ceremony event in Inami Town, Hyogo Prefecture It's a small local festival, but everyone is desperate to catch the sparks thrown by the rice cakes and demons.

Meiji Jingu shrine during snowfall

Funabashi Daijingu

Japan Events: First Visit, Funabashi Daijingu Shrine

"Horse Festival" held in Honsu City, Gifu Prefecture It is an annual festival of Nagaya Shrine held on August 1 and 2 every year. It is said to have been held since the shrine was built. It is designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Gifu Prefecture. Dance of children, floats are towed. At the end of the festival, riders dressed in layers of haori hakama ride horses, open flower umbrellas and fans, and run around the precincts. The layered haori is gradually taken off and scattered with confetti. Although it was canceled for two years due to Coronavirus pandemic, the sight of local high school students running looks brave.

Wanted to do Hatsumode this year but didn't want to go anywhere crowded, so I decided to go out to Saitama and find a small shrine to visit. Ended up at this tiny shrine in Nishi-Omiya called Fukuda Inari Shrine (福田稲荷神社). It was super small and not a single person was there so it was like we had the whole place to ourselves. There was no real path leading up to the shrine so we had to walk through a plot of land that wasn't being used but it ended up being a really cool place. The approach to the shrine was really mysterious and once you get past the second torii gate you can see a bamboo forest surrounding the whole area. It was really neat as I couldn't see any bamboo from the outside and didn't really know what to expect when I visited. The shrine itself looks almost deserted but somehow still well maintained. I wanted to go inside to look at the pictures better but obviously I can't so I just admired them from afar. The temizuya/chozuya (or at least I think it was that, maybe this would be considered a chozubachi?) didn't have a ladle to wash your hands but maybe it has to do with corona. Anyways, it was a really nice little shrine and is a great place if you're looking for a mini adventure outside of Tokyo. Or if you want to do Hatsumode and avoid the crowds completely lol. Also, happy new year!