All of the cities in Japan have their own unique vibes; the hustle bustle of Tokyo, the tranquility of Kyoto, the serene Hiroshima, and so on. Aside of those different characteristics, there is a similarity that we can see from all cities: the existence of shrines and temples.
Wherever you go in Japan, you will always run into shrines or temples. It is always crowded with the locals to pray, either for ordinary praying ritual or festive praying during special celebration. Shrine and temple might look similar, but actually they belong to different beliefs. Shrine belongs to Shinto religious tradition (worship the deities) and can be identified with the torii⛩ at the entrance, while temple belongs to Buddhist religious tradition (worship the Buddha) which will have a big gate called sanmon.
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| Torii gate to Kamado Shrine, Dazaifu, Fukuoka (Upper pic). Sanmon gate to Senso-ji Temple, Asakusa, Tokyo (Lower pic) |
Lucky for us tourist, even if we don't have the same belief as the Japanese, the shrines and temples welcome us to pay a visit!
Here are some quick guides on what we can do as a tourist in Japanese shrines and temples. By knowing the do and don'ts, we can have better experience during the visit, blend in with the locals, and most importantly, respect the sacred atmosphere there!
Here are some quick guides on what we can do as a tourist in Japanese shrines and temples. By knowing the do and don'ts, we can have better experience during the visit, blend in with the locals, and most importantly, respect the sacred atmosphere there!
Cleanse yourself at the Temizuya
Upon our entrance, we will be welcomed by Temizuya, a water pavilion. The pavilion has a clean running water and a ladle to scoop the water. The water is used for ritual to purify the body and mind prior further entering and (for the believer) meeting the deity / Buddha.
Tourists are very welcomed (and recommended) to also follow the rituals:
- Hold the ladle with our right hand, scoop the water (we only scoop once, so fill up your ladle)
- Pour the water on our left hand
- Move the ladle to our left hand, then pour it to our right hand
- Move the ladle back to our right hand
- Pour the remaining water to our cupped left hand and rinse our mouth (don’t touch the ladle with our mouth)
Take the smoke
In Japanese Buddhist temple, there is a designated place to put incense. One of the most well known one is in Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, with the gigantic incense burner pot called Jokoro. We can buy the incense stick from nearby stall, lit it, and place it on the incense burner.
Once you've done, don’t go away. Take the chance to cover yourself with the smoke. This is a symbol of healing and purifying: our body part that being covered by the smoke will be healed. Wave the smoke to yourself and pat in everywhere: your head, your body, your hand and your foot.
If we don’t want to buy the incense, we can still join the crowd and stand around the incense burner (like what I did😂). But be aware that our clothes will be smell like smoke, so bring an extra clothes if necessary😉
If we don’t want to buy the incense, we can still join the crowd and stand around the incense burner (like what I did😂). But be aware that our clothes will be smell like smoke, so bring an extra clothes if necessary😉
Take Omikuji - Japanese Fortune Telling
Omikuji is a slip of paper with your fortune written on it. By putting some amount of money (usually 100 yen), we can take the paper and read our fortune. In some places, we can simply take the paper randomly from a box.
In other places, like Senso-ji Temple, we need to shake a shaker with numbered sticks inside, see the number written on the stick that comes out from the shaker, and take the fortune paper from the numbered shelf.
Throughout my visit in Japan, I think I've collected at least one Omikuji in every temple or shrine that I visited. I just love the excitement to see what's written on the paper! Luckily, all of the fortune written on my Omikuji were positive. If our fortune wasn't favorable, we can always tie up the Omikuji on the spots prepared in the shrines or temples and leave the bad luck there.
Many big shrines and temples in Japan already provide Omikuji in several languages to cater international tourists' needs. However, keep in mind that in some places the Omikuji only available in Japanese only. In that case, prepare your Google Translate apps!
Buy Omamori - Japanese Lucky Charm
Don't left the shrines or temples empty handed; bring home Japanese lucky charm or Omamori!
Omamori is a Japanese amulet that believed to guide or protect the carrier. Different shrines/temples could sell different designs of Omamori, but the purpose/blessings are usually around success, health, wealth, education, relationship, etc. We can select ranges of colorful Omamori displayed on the table available in the Omamori booth inside shrines/temples. The price usually starts from 500 yen and some can cost up to 10,000 yen!
Omamori can also be a unique souvenir for our relatives; but make sure we buy the right Omamori that suits their needs/desire!
Omamori can also be a unique souvenir for our relatives; but make sure we buy the right Omamori that suits their needs/desire!
So those are things that us tourist can do while visiting shrines or temples in Japan aside from taking pictures! If we want, we can also join the praying ritual. Just observe how the locals do their prayer, with the money/coins giving, ringing the bells, bowing, and clapping. Nevertheless, make sure we stay polite and respectful of the locals😉
Hope this post is useful for you❣️ See you on my next post! xx
Hope this post is useful for you❣️ See you on my next post! xx
