Happy New Year 2024!

Happy New Year! 

I hope 2024 will be a great year for everyone especially those who have been affected by the earthquake.

I would like to introduce Yutoku Inari Shrine in Kashima City in Saga Prefecture because it is perfect to begin the new year. The shrine was built in 1687 and attracts about 3 million visitors every year. It is known as one of the powerful spiritual sites in Japan. Inari Shrine enshrines the god of business.

I went there on January 8, expecting there would be not so many people since the first three days of the new year were already passed when most people visit shrines. However, the shrine was more crowded than my expectation. I had to wait in a line for my turn to pray at the main hall.

I also visited the inner sanctuary for the first time which is located on the top of a mountain behind the main hall. Although there were handrails, the stone steps leading up to it were quite steep and uneven. I rested for a while at a bench on the way. I was surprised to find vending machines for drinks at the inner sanctuary. I can't imagine how they were brought up there. From the inner sanctuary, I could overlook the Ariake Sea. Fortunately, the weather was nice. If it had rained, I could not have visited the inner sanctuary.

On the way back, I took a different path down, even though I was worried by a sign saying "difficult passage". It did have more steep stairs and height differences compared to the path I took to go up but even children and elderly people were using it.

There were also many small shrines along the path and I saw a huge stone enshrined which reminds me that Shinto is based on nature.

Let's make this year a fruitful year for all!