Tokyo Metropolis

In Japan, celebrating New Year is all about ‘firsts.’ Perhaps the most important ‘first’ is the first trip to a shrine, a tradition called hatsumode. While this visit can happen at any time, usually over the first three days of the year, the most dramatic time will be at midnight on December 31, when crowds will gather to hear parishioners ring the temple bells and pray. Meiji Jingu Hatsumode As one of Japan’s top three shrines, Meiji is the most famous shrine to visit for Hatsumode and attracts over 3.1 million people over the first three days of the year. It has been considered a power spot in recent times, from where pilgrims can draw power for the coming year. As can be expected, with so many visitors, people queue for hours for their first prayer, though many do not wait to get to the front of the queue, instead of tossing their coins far over people’s heads to make their ritual donation. Meiji Jingu Shrine 1-1 Kamizono-Cho, Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 03-3379-5511 www.meijijingu.or.jp/english Map Asakusa Kannon Hatsumode Asakusa Shrine is one of the 840 important shrines in Japan and is another popular hatsumode spot. In previous times the Sensoji temple closed its…