ASAKUSA Underground > Three things you do in Sensoji temple
1, You improve your brain.
When you visit Asakusa, you never miss the gate with a huge lantern. You
take some photos there. Less fortunate tourists' Asakusa experience finishes
at this point. They get back to the Metro and go somewhere else in Tokyo.
They committed a fundamental error of underestimating Asakusa's depth.
Their argument is understandable. Japan is too vast culturally. They don't have time to visit all.
In this sense, backpackers are true aristocrats of tourism. Though you don't have a lot of money, you have time. If you do not have freedom of time, how can you call yourself better off?
However, ASAKUSA Underground never abandons the ones who are less fortunate, and give them three fun things you can do within a limited amount of time.
First, you need to improve your brainpower, especially if you have committed such a big mistake of buying a first class ticket to Japan instead of demanding longer holidays to your boss. Conveniently, you can do it in Sensoji temple.
From the first gate with the lantern, you walk along Nakamise Street, and
go through the second gate. Then you see some smoke lingering from a huge
incense burner. A few people stand around it, trying to catch the smoke.
After they catch it, they put it on their body.
It is a local belief that if you put the smoke on, you can cure your sickness. If you put it on your head, you can improve your brain.
2, You tell your fortune.
Look around now. You can see several counters where they sell a piece of paper. They are not selling an indulgence. The Japanese do not suffer from sin so much as the Christians.
It is Omikuji, a type of fortune telling. In a way, they are selling the piece of paper you find in a fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant (only in certain countries, not in Japan).
It is around 300 yen. You pay the money to the person at the counter and he will ask you to shake a sort of a case very well. A chopstick-like piece of wood comes out of it, and the stick has got a number written on it. You draw the drawer corresponding to the number and take a piece of paper. (Or, he might give you the piece straight.) Your fortune is written there.
Unfortunately, it is written in Japanese. If you can read old-style Japanese, you can tell your fortune in detail, but it is a little hard even for some young Japanese to decipher. So, mostly locals only check their fortune in general, which is printed in larger characters.
- 大吉 big good luck
- 吉 good luck
- 中吉 middle good luck
- 小吉 small good luck
- 末吉 last good luck, the smallest good luck
- 凶 bad luck
- 大凶 big bad luck
Even if you get a "big bad luck", don't worry. Since fortune is like a wheel, "big bad luck" leads you to "big good luck". They say that one has more chances of drawing a "bad luck" here at Sensoji. So, if you get a "good luck", you must be truly lucky.
Some locals tie the papers on branches of trees in the precinct and leave them behind. They look like a work of modern art installation. Of course, you can keep it. It makes you a nice souvenir, which doesn't weigh too much.
3, You try your fortune.
Put sticky chewing gum on the sole of your shoe and walk around the offering box.
On a busy day, some Japanese visitors are too impatient to wait in the line until they get to the box. In stead, they throw their offerings, which are money. Often, the coins miss their target and fall on the ground.
If you have drawn a "good luck", why don't you try your luck immediately? You might get a 500 yen coin stuck on your shoe. If your fortune is bad, you should still do it. You may get some of your money back this way.
You are genuinely lucky if you spend your New Year holidays in Japan. It is definitely the most interesting time to visit it because the modern and hi-tech Japan transforms itself into a religious and traditional wonderland during the period. Visit Sensoji, or any temple or shrine. It will be crowded, but surely it is going to be a fantastic experience. Then, wear a coat with a hood and queue in the line to the offering box. You may find a fortune in the hood later.
Three things you do in Sensoji temple
1, You improve your brain.
When you visit Asakusa, you never miss the gate with a huge lantern. You
take some photos there. Less fortunate tourists' Asakusa experience finishes
at this point. They get back to the Metro and go somewhere else in Tokyo.
They committed a fundamental error of underestimating Asakusa's depth.Their argument is understandable. Japan is too vast culturally. They don't have time to visit all.
In this sense, backpackers are true aristocrats of tourism. Though you don't have a lot of money, you have time. If you do not have freedom of time, how can you call yourself better off?
However, ASAKUSA Underground never abandons the ones who are less fortunate, and give them three fun things you can do within a limited amount of time.
First, you need to improve your brainpower, especially if you have committed such a big mistake of buying a first class ticket to Japan instead of demanding longer holidays to your boss. Conveniently, you can do it in Sensoji temple.
From the first gate with the lantern, you walk along Nakamise Street, and
go through the second gate. Then you see some smoke lingering from a huge
incense burner. A few people stand around it, trying to catch the smoke.
After they catch it, they put it on their body.It is a local belief that if you put the smoke on, you can cure your sickness. If you put it on your head, you can improve your brain.
2, You tell your fortune.
Look around now. You can see several counters where they sell a piece of paper. They are not selling an indulgence. The Japanese do not suffer from sin so much as the Christians.
It is Omikuji, a type of fortune telling. In a way, they are selling the piece of paper you find in a fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant (only in certain countries, not in Japan).
It is around 300 yen. You pay the money to the person at the counter and he will ask you to shake a sort of a case very well. A chopstick-like piece of wood comes out of it, and the stick has got a number written on it. You draw the drawer corresponding to the number and take a piece of paper. (Or, he might give you the piece straight.) Your fortune is written there.
Unfortunately, it is written in Japanese. If you can read old-style Japanese, you can tell your fortune in detail, but it is a little hard even for some young Japanese to decipher. So, mostly locals only check their fortune in general, which is printed in larger characters.
- 大吉 big good luck
- 吉 good luck
- 中吉 middle good luck
- 小吉 small good luck
- 末吉 last good luck, the smallest good luck
- 凶 bad luck
- 大凶 big bad luck
Even if you get a "big bad luck", don't worry. Since fortune is like a wheel, "big bad luck" leads you to "big good luck". They say that one has more chances of drawing a "bad luck" here at Sensoji. So, if you get a "good luck", you must be truly lucky.
Some locals tie the papers on branches of trees in the precinct and leave them behind. They look like a work of modern art installation. Of course, you can keep it. It makes you a nice souvenir, which doesn't weigh too much.
3, You try your fortune.
Put sticky chewing gum on the sole of your shoe and walk around the offering box.
On a busy day, some Japanese visitors are too impatient to wait in the line until they get to the box. In stead, they throw their offerings, which are money. Often, the coins miss their target and fall on the ground.
If you have drawn a "good luck", why don't you try your luck immediately? You might get a 500 yen coin stuck on your shoe. If your fortune is bad, you should still do it. You may get some of your money back this way.
You are genuinely lucky if you spend your New Year holidays in Japan. It is definitely the most interesting time to visit it because the modern and hi-tech Japan transforms itself into a religious and traditional wonderland during the period. Visit Sensoji, or any temple or shrine. It will be crowded, but surely it is going to be a fantastic experience. Then, wear a coat with a hood and queue in the line to the offering box. You may find a fortune in the hood later.