New Year's Omikuji (2015 vs. 2016)

Every year, when New Year's day rolls around, some of my coworkers and I get to skip work for an hour (shhh!) to pray at the shrine for a good New Year's blessing. Since I'm now a seasoned veteran of this tradition (two years running, baby), I thought I could have a little retrospective of my New Year's shrine photos. Ready to time warp with me?

First, we have the lovely 2015 experience where I have shortish blonde hair and a blue bow. Haruka and Takashi (pictured below) taught me the proper way to wash my hands, clap and bow to get the best possible blessings for a good year. 

We also took a fortune (omikuji) from a little box to see how our year would turn out. Haruka, Takashi and I all pulled bad ones, so we threw them into a flaming pit. It was great! 

The flaming pit where bad fortunes go...

Afterwards, I ate a giant grilled squid. I remember it being pretty so-so, it was covered in some sort of soy sauce glaze. Classic Japanese festival fare!

Grilled Squid and I: The Chewy Saga

Fast forward to 2016 shrine visit, which was just as much fun. As we walked up the long steps to reach the shrine for prayer time, we ran into several of my tiniest students. They all screamed "hello how are you?" and Haruka remarked that in Kadogawa I am now a very famous person. 

This year, when we pulled our fortunes, I actually received the best one you can get-- daikichi, which basically means "best luck." I felt pretty excited about it. 

2016 Omikuji Fortune Selfie (featuring a devastated Takashi)

Haruka received chuukichi, sort of like a "medium luck," while Takashi was stuck with kichi. Just "regular luck." They were both very disappointed, so we cheered ourselves up with a fish shaped snack called taiyaki.

The festival food stands outside the shrine

Taiyaki-- the folks in my office love the chocolate flavored one.

Always a good time at the shrine. Here's hoping my 2016 is as good as my fortune predicted! 

And let's hope that Haruka and Takashi's 2016 is much better than their fortunes predicted... "Regular luck" might as well be no luck at all. Poor, poor Takashi.