Happy New Year! New Year’s Day in Tokyo was a peaceful start to the year. After visiting my guardian shrine nearby, then I visited Meiji Jingu shrine and Asakusa Sensoji-temple, to see how many people have come back for New Year’s visits this year. Meiji Jingu in the early afternoon seemed to be a little shorter than it used be before COVID-19, but there were still long lines of people looking forward to the new year. Passing through the first torii made of brand-new cedar, which was rebuilt last July for the first time in about 100 years, and enter … Continue reading New Year’s first visit in 2023, Tokyo