正月 - Ringing the temple bell for Shogatsu

Firstly, あけましておめでとう, akemashite omedetou, Happy New Year from Hirosaki!

The line of temple visitors enters the main gate

初詣, Hatsumode, or the first shrine visit of the new year, had been on my list of things to do in Japan, and I received an invitation to go to hatsumode at Saisho-in Temple with a group of JETs from Hirosaki and the greater Tsugaru area. Kindly guided by Hideki-san, Alex's friend and go club manager, we walked from Dotemachi street to the north approach of Saisho-in Temple and got in line with many other visitors to pay our respects. 

I'm not an expert on the tradition by any means, but I do know that it involves going to the shrine or temple, tossing some coins in the offering box, ringing the bell and bowing. We followed Hideki-san's instructions at the main temple hall, then executed a team effort to ring the larger temple bell on our way out. We also stopped in to pay our respects at the Yasaka Shrine next door before heading back for fruit, candy and tea at the go club.

Approaching Saisho-in from the north

The moon shines over the five-story pagoda

Waiting in line to go into the temple

Lantern in the snow

The steps to Yasaka Shrine in the front, and the gate to Saisho-in in the back

Lanterns hanging around the dragon fountain 

Happy 2016, year of the Monkey!