Hokkaido Shrine

Day 4 of our vacation ~ Early morning, we headed to the traditional worship place for the Japanese "Shindo", which is also the oldest shrine in Hokkaido.  Before stepping into the shrine, we had to wash our hands and gargle our mouth to symbolise a purification process by getting rid of the dirty stuff we have said and done.

At the entrance of the shrine, there was a kiosk from which we could read our fortunes and purchase cards to write our well-wishes.  If unfortunately you pick up an ill-fortune, you can discard it in one of the metal crates (i.e. the metal crates on the left filled with white paper).  The ill-fortunes in these crates will be incinerated subsequently to "get rid" off the bad luck and hopefully improve your luck in the future.

As for the wooden crates on the right, temple-goers who have written their well-wishes and hopes for their future on mini wooden cards will hang these cards onto the wooden crates.  By hanging up their well-wishes in the temple, they sincerely hope that their prayers will be acknowledged and answered.

Unlike the Chinese and Indian temples that we see in Singapore with many intricate designs and numerous figurines, the decor in a Japanese shrine is rather simple and elegant.  Within a few minutes, we had already completed our tour of the shrine. 

A crowd started gathering at the entrance of the shrine.  It was time to witness the blessing of new cars.  Traditionally, new car owners will drive their cars to the temple for the priest to perform a blessing on their cars which is suppose to keep the drivers and their cars safe from any traffic accidents. 

Although it was a very short visit, the peaceful surroundings and seeing how the young and elderly pray devoutly at the Hokkaido shrine even when it was drizzling slightly, left me with a warm and contented feeling.