Yasaka shrine in Kyoto

Yasaka shrine [Japanese: 八坂神社; Yasaka-jinja]
Yasaka shrine is also called "Gion-san" [Japanese: 祇園さん] because Yasaka shrine was once called Gion shrine(=Gion-jinja).
Yasaka shrine is the second most popular shrines in Kyoto.
Yasaka shrine welcomes about 1 millions of people for New Year.

We walked Shijo street [Japanese: 四条通; Shijō-dori] 

from Gion-Shijo station [Japanese: 祇園四条駅; Gion-Shijō]

to the east.

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main entrance of Yasaka shrine [Japanese: 西楼門] on Shijo street.

 

 

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After we entered the main entrance [桜門],

 

a Daruma dolls stand
(Daruma dolls are regarded as a talisman of good luck and seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck.)
 

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After keep walking the pathway [Japanese: 参道],

main hall of Yasaka shrine [Japanese: 本殿; Honden].
 Main hall is one of the Important Cultural Properties of Japan.

In front of the main hall, 

there was a Kagura hall or Maidono [Japanese:神楽殿 or 舞殿].
(Kagura hall: music pavilion in a Shinto shrine dedicated to Noh or the sacred kagura dance)
 

 

Backside of main hall,

there was a place to tie Omikuji and Ema.
(O-mikuji: fortune slip)
(Ema: wooden plaques bearing prayers or wishes)
 

 

In front of Omikuji area, 

there was "Utsukushi-Gozensha" [Japanese: 美御前社].

 The god of Utsukushi-Gozensha is the god of the beauty.

Episode of Yasaka shrine

TOMO&CHOUCHOU went to Yasaka shrine [Japanese: 八坂神社; Yasaka-jinja) in Kyoto for New Year's.
Tomo&Chouchou went to Kyoto by train, then we walked Shijō street [Japanese: 四条通; Shijō-dōri) from Gion-Shijō station [祇園四条駅] to Yasaka shrine.
On Shijō street(=forth avenue), there were many Kyoto-taste shops. It was enjoyable to seee while walking!
After Keep walking Shijō street to the east, we could find the main entrance of the Yasaka shrine [Japanese: 西楼門].
After the entrance, we found many stands (Japanese: 屋台; yatai).
Chouchou was happy to find a Daruma dolls stand, then Chouchou prayed to the Daruma doll.
Keep walking the pathway through the crowd, we found a main hall [Japanese: 本殿; Honden) which was one of the Important Cultural Properties of Japan [重要文化財]. There were so many people in the shrine but we could pray well.
In front of the main hall, there was a maidono [舞殿] which is decorated with lots of Japanese lanterns.
Back side of main hall, there was a place to tie Omikuji [Japanese: おみくじ] or Ema [Japanese: 絵馬].
In front of omikuji area, there was "Utsukushi-Gozensha" [Japanese: 美御前社]. Tomo was happily surprised to find the god of the beauty at Utsukushi-Gozensha! In front of the shrine, there was sacred water [Japanese: 神水]. This sacred water cures skin problems and makes us beautiful from the heart. Of course, Tomo put sacred water to her skin and prayed for the beauty!

Then, we went to the park which is called "Maruyama-Kōen" [Japanese: 円山公園] where is located in the east side of Yasaka shrine. We enjoyed Shijo area in New Year's. It was the good start of the year!

Tomo&Chouchou's advices for Yasaka shrine

Yasaka shrine is popular all year rounds. 

Yasaka shrine is famous for Gion festival(=祇園祭; Gion-matsuri). It is held in July every year. At this time, it is super crowded around Shijo area.

Maruyama-Kōen has excellent cherry blossom (=Shidare-sakura), so Shijo area is very crowded during spring, especially cherry blossom season (=Hanami season).

The entrances and exits of Yasaka shrine are never closed, so you can visit and pray at night too.

Please enjoy Yasaka shrine each season !


Address
625, Gionmachi Kitagawa, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto
[京都府京都市東山区祇園町北側625番地]

Transportation
about 5min. on foot from Gion-Shijo station of Keihan line [京阪祇園四条駅]
or
About 8min. on foot from Kawaramachi station of Hankyu line [阪急河原町駅]
or
about 15min. by car from Kyoto station of JR line [ＪＲ京都駅]
or
in front of "Gion" bus stop of Kyoto city bus 206 from JR Kyoto station

Taga-taisha shrine in Shiga, Japan

 

Taga shrine /Taga Taisha [Japanese: 多賀大社]
on New Year's day.

Mikos were dancing under the snow.
(a miko [巫女]: a maiden in the service of a Shinto shrine)

 Tree was white with the snow.

Episode of Taga shrine [多賀大社]

Tomo&Chouchou went to Taga shrine (Taga-taisha) located in Shiga prefecture for Hatsumōde (=the first visit to the Shinto shrine on New Year's Day).
On the day when Tomo&Chouchou went to Taga Taisha, it was very cold and it snowed. Everybody was praying with umbrella under the snow.
It was very fantastic and beautiful to see the mikos dancing under the snow. 
We also enjoyed winter scenery such Japanese traditional shrine with snow. It is rare to snow in the place where Tomo&Chouchou live, so it was very impressive to see snow in New Year's. It was the good beginning of the year !


Information
Gods of Taga shrine are famous for a longevity (=long life) [Japanese: 延命長寿],
a talisman (=avoiding misfortune)[Japanese: 厄除け], or a good match [Japanese: 縁結び].

The fame of Taga-Taisha spread quickly among the samurai and the public
in the period between Kamakura and Edo.

Hideyoshi Toyotomi [Japanese: 豊臣秀吉] also prayed for his mother's disease
 at Taga Taisha then his mother's illness was cured.

Address:
604 Taga, Taga-cho, Inugami-gun, Shiga
滋賀県犬上郡多賀町多賀604

Transportation:
about 20 minutes walk from Taga Taisha-mae Station [多賀大社前駅]
on the Ohmi Railway Taga Line [近江鉄道多賀腺]
or
about 10 minutes by bus from Minami-Hikone Station [南彦根駅]
on the JR West Biwako Line [ＪＲ西琵琶湖線].  

Mt.Myoken New Year's sunrise hike

On January 1st.

Meeting point: Myokenguchi station 

of Myoken line of Nose Electric Railway

[Japanese: 能勢電鉄妙見線妙見口駅}

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We started to climb Mt.Myoken [Japanese: 妙見山] in the early morning.

It was still dark outside.

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We arrived the top of Mt.Myoken.

We waited for the first sunrise.

First sunrise of Mt.Myoken

[Japanese: Myokenzan; 妙見山]. 

We could see the sunrise slightly through the clouds. 

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near the top of Mt.Myoken

Nose-Myokendo [Japanese: 能勢妙見堂]

Official name: Murosan-shinnyoji-keigaibutsudō-nosemyokenzan,

[Japanese: 無漏山真如寺境外仏堂能勢妙見山]

We found "Furumai zake"(=Free sake) while we were going down.

There was zenzai too. 

Around there, there was a fire (=Takibi; 焚き火).

While eating and drinking, we could warm up with a fire.

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We went down the mountain.

We went to the station to go back.

Episode of Mt.Myoken hike

Tomo&Chouchou went hiking to Mt. Myoken 妙見山(or Myoken-san or Myoken-zan) for sunrise of New Year's Day !
Mt.Myoken is located from Kawanishi-city in Hyogo prefecture [Japanese: 兵庫県川西市] to Toyono-cho, Toyono-gun in Osaka [Japanese: 大阪府豊能郡豊能町] and Nose-cho in Osaka prefecture [Japanese: 大阪府能勢町].
Mt. Myoken hike for sunrise of New Year's Day is organized by the Nose Electric Railway Co. Ltd. [能勢電鉄].
Meeting point was at Myoken-guchi station [Japanese: 妙見口駅] of Myoken line of Nose Electric Railway [Japanese: 能勢電鉄妙見線] in the early morning on Jan. 1st..
Everybody climbed Mt. Myoken with each pace. Our walking course was along the stream. The hiking course was close to the water, so it was very cold. The slope to go up the mountain was very steep. Even it was very cold, we sweated a lot.
Hiking road was very dark. Head light helped us a lot to find the hiking road.

We could arrive on the top of the mountain before the sun rises. However,  unfortunately, we couldn't see the sunrise because of the clouds. Anyway we could see the sunrise slightly and we could feel refreshed !
Near the top of Mt. Myoken, there is a temple of Nichiren Shū 日蓮宗/Nichiren School which is called "Nose-Myokendo; 能勢妙見堂", official name "Murosan-shinnyoji-keigaibutsudō-nosemyokenzan; （無漏山真如寺境外仏堂能勢妙見山)".
Right after watching sunrise of New Year's Day, we went to Hatsumōde.
 (Hatsumōde is the first temple visit of the New Year's day.)
After praying at the temple, Tomo&Chouchou decided to take another walking course. While we were going down, we found "Furumai zake"(=Free sake)!
We were very happy to be served for free ! There were not only Amazake (sweet sake), but also Zenzai!
 (Zenzai is a sweet porridge of azuki beans boiled and crushed, served in a bowl with mochi (=Japanese rice cake).) Around there, there was a fire. While eating and drinking, we could warm up with a fire.
After our heart and body were warmed up, Tomo&Chouchou kept going down. We had to take a cable car to go down for that walking course. There were lots of people waiting for the cable car. We didn't want to wait for a long time so we decided to go down with other walking courses. Going down the mountain in the morning was not difficult. It was much easier than going up the mountain at night.

It was the first time for Tomo&Chouchou to climb the mountain on the New Year's day. Normally we stay home and visit a shrine near the house. But it was a very "New" year for us. It was refreshing . We could really feel the beginning of the year and new start. Unfortunatelly we could see the beautiful perfect sunrise but it was a good experience!

Tomo&Chouchou's advices for Mt.Myoken hike

1) Walking course is along the stream. The hiking course is close to the water, so please go with warm clothes ! But please wear something easy to dry for inner clothes. Because to go up the mountain, the slope is very steep, so that you easily sweat.
2) Please don't forget to bring a head light because it is a hike in the dark.
3) Even if you cannot see the sunrise, you can see the primeval forest of Japanese beech which is nominated as Osaka natural environmental preservation zone. It's worth to hike.
4) Right after watching sunrise of New Year's Day, you can go directly to Hatsumōde, so it's convenient.
 (Hatsumōde is the first temple visit of the New Year's day.)
5) If you don't want to wait to take a cable car and you still have energy, you can go down with other walking courses.
6) If hiking is too tough for you to see the sunrise, you can also go up to the mountain by car or cable car.
To go by cable car, 
Take a Hankyu bus [阪急バス] until the bus stop "cable mae teiryujyo [ケーブル前停留所]" -->Take Myoken Cable till "Kurokawa" station [妙見ケーブル黒川駅] -->Transfer to Myoken lift [妙見リフト] -->Walk around 300m -->you will arrive in front of Torii [鳥居前]. (torii is a gateway at the entrace to a Shinto shrine.)