Yes, you heard it right, there's this shrine in Tokyo full of onigiris!
On the last day of the New Year holidays in Japan, my friends and I impulsively met at Tokyo Skytree. We're not here to enjoy the views of Tokyo, nor enjoy the attractions in the area. We just set this place as our meeting location and walked to the shrine from there, as it's not so far.
It started the night before when I messaged @appleeatingapple about going to the shrine I just stumbled upon on IG. It was all about onigiris and they were so cute so I wanted to see it for myself. I know Apple likes food and all things food. Right after I sent her the message, she replied when we're going and right then and there, we decided it would be the next day. I didn't even check the actual location yet in the maps, I only did it after she said yes. 😅
I extended the invitation to our circle of friends and I was just surprised some showed up (like @ohlnwwlknat). It was such a very quick decision making on our part, unlike our other plans which needed time and effort to make it happen. 😆
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It was a 10-minute walk from Tokyo Skytree to the shrine, which is located in a quiet neighborhood. We passed by the train tracks, and I always liked this view, crossing the street where the train passes.
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Located in Sumida City, Tokyo, this average-sized purple-colored shrine is called Takagi Shrine. It's a shrine with lots of rice balls. But actually, the shrine is not the place where you will be granted more rice balls. It comes from a wordplay of the deity's name, Takami Musubi No Kami, the deity of creation and relationships. Rice ball in Japanese is often called onigiri or omusubi.
There was a small and big gate and of course, being our first time, we passed through the big one. I'm not sure if it was proper but I guess so. I noticed some people entered through the big gate.
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The first thing I noticed was the stone lantern by the gate full of onigiris. They weren't just stones, there were also things including a smiling cute teapot and 3 actual rice balls you could buy from the convenience store. Maybe someone offered it?
As customary to every shrine, one needs to wash hands and mouth with this sacred water. After COVID struck, it's normal to find this kind of dripping water now. Before a ladle was used and, you needed to follow the actual cleansing ritual to enter the shrine. If you think you didn't find any onigiri in this cleansing area, try again.
There weren't a lot of people when we arrived which was nice because it felt like we had the shrine all to ourselves. We didn't feel restricted by our astonishment and trying to get familiar with the place.
Japanese people are often seen crowding shrines and temples on the first few days of the new year, most especially on the 1st, as there's a term called 初詣 (read as hatsumode) which means the first shrine/temple visit of the year. Usually, you make prayers for the new year, get your fortune, buy new charms, and many else.
Since this is actually my first shrine visit of the year, this was my hatsumode - not on the 1st though. It's still January so I guess it's counted.
I don't usually pray in the shrines because of different beliefs but today I just felt like it. It was just epic - I wasn't able to hear the bell ring when I tried to shake it. It was supposed to ring loud but I couldn't hear a sound so I tried again but the same thing happened so I gave up and proceeded with the next steps of bowing 2x, clapping 2x, praying, bowing, and leaving after. That's what I remembered doing, if I'm wrong, please tell me the right steps.
I told Apple about the bell sound and she said she heard a faint sound - well, at least she heard something. I hope the gods heard my prayers.
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There are really small details here and there in the shrine of anything onigiri - stones, legos, etc. If you're an observant like me, you would notice hidden ones as well.
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I like that they made an effort to have all things rice balls as possible, even crochet items like these are just so cute to look at.
What caught my attention the most was the rice ball shaped 絵馬 (read as ema). Ema is a wooden board where you write your wishes and hang them in a dedicated place in the shrine. They say you dedicate it there so the gods of the shrine will answer your prayers.
And after careful thought, I finally got myself one.
I wrote many things on my wooden plaque but actually, if number 1 will be granted, others will come. 😁🤑💴
@thinkeringbart caught up with us in the shrine, quickly bought himself the plaque, and wrote down his prayers. We didn't notice we've already been in the shrine for an hour or so. We were taking our time deciding what to buy from the shop and analyzing anything we saw that sparked curiosity.
Before getting myself an ema, we all got ourselves our おみくじ (read as omikuji) or our fortunes for the entire year. There were many kinds - love omikuji, an arrow omikuji, an omikuji from an anime, for kids, and a regular one. We went with the normal version and guess what I got?
It was 末吉, the lowest kind of luck you'll get from the sacred lot.
I initially thought this is the bad luck fortune but after reading about it more, it seems it means uncertain luck. I won't fall into the bad side of things if I do something - and it was also stated in the fortune paper I got.
I didn't think twice about tying it in the dedicated area. Since it's not a lucky fortune for me, I wouldn't keep it.
Since the anime omikuji is a limited edition (until supplies last), I tried getting from it too. Yes, I drew my fortune twice in different sacred lots. And guess what I got? The same fortune. No luck. No escape. 🙃
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You could see the difference between this and the normal sacred lots. This one is simple - just like how Takagi-san and Nishikata-san communicate in the anime, except for the teasing part. I felt like Takagi-san was talking to me as I was reading my fortune from this.
The anime I'm talking about is Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san (in English: Teasing Master Takagi-san). I haven't finished watching the entire anime yet but there were lots of traces of the anime characters in this temple. Maybe if I continue watching, I'll know why and let you know.
Anyways, before we left, I got myself a charm for granting one's desires. It's in a kappa design, and it also has the iconic onigiri! I really hope it works because I have tons of desires. 🙏
I also wanted to get the booklet where you could get stamps from the shrines because the cover is cute and so is the stamp for January. But the stamping period is only available on weekdays and only during office hours, so it's impossible for me to complete getting the stamps. If I live nearby, probably I can make it.
If you like onigiris (or cute stuff), a quiet and small shrine, I recommend going! It's just near Tokyo Skytree, so you can give it a quick visit when you go. Just make sure to be there before 4 pm if you plan on getting the charms.
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！
With love,
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.
Sumida
