glowinginjapan

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Otaru Snow Light Path Festival

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/02/03/otaru-snow-light-path-festival-a-charmingly-candlelit-city-by-the-sea/

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Otaru Snow Light Path Festival

Otaru (小樽) was once a busy port city which served both domestic and international trade, and, built in 1880, the first railway (the Temiya line) in Hokkaido ran from Otaru to Sapporo.  In 1923, the Otaru Canal (小樽運河) was finished, and smaller ships ferried goods from large ships at sea to the warehouses along the canal.  The trade from Otaru spurred the growth of industry in Hokaido.  In the 1980s, Otaru citizens petitioned the city to save the canal, and the city developed Otaru Canal as a tourist attraction with old warehouses converted into shops and restaurants.

In 1999, Otaru began hosting the Otaru Snow Light Path Festival (小樽雪あかりの路), which is centered around the historic Otaru Canal.  

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/02/03/otaru-snow-light-path-festival-a-charmingly-candlelit-city-by-the-sea/

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A view of Otaru from Tenguyama mountain. 

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/02/03/otaru-snow-light-path-festival-a-charmingly-candlelit-city-by-the-sea/

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Biei’s Shirahige Waterfall

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/02/11/bieis-shirahige-waterfall-shiragane-onsen-and-the-blue-pond/

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Biei’s Shirahige Waterfall

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/02/11/bieis-shirahige-waterfall-shiragane-onsen-and-the-blue-pond/

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Sapporo Snow Festival 

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/02/02/sapporo-snow-festival-by-night-2/

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Sapporo Snow Festival 

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/02/02/sapporo-snow-festival-by-night-2/

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historic former Hokkaido Government Building

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/02/02/sapporo-snow-festival-by-day-1/

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Sapporo Snow Festival

Sapporo (札幌) is the capital of Hokkaido.  During the Meiji period, in 1868, Sapporo was designated as the capital city of Hokkaido, and Sapporo was developed along a grid, which made navigation of the city extremely easy, and, in 1880, connected to a railway that made the city a transit point between Hokkaido coal mines and the port city of Otaru.  In 1950, Sapporo held its first Snow Festival and, in 1972, hosted the Winter Olympic Games (the first to be held in Asia).

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/02/02/sapporo-snow-festival-by-day-1/

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Yanaka shichifukujin meguri

Established in 1625, Bentendo Temple (不忍池弁天堂, 弁天堂) houses Benzaiten (goddess of the arts, music, beauty, and water).  Once a part of the Kaneiji Temple centered in Ueno Park, Bentendo was built on an artificial island in the lotus-filled Shinobazu Pond.  In the past, visitors had to take a boat to pray at the temple, but, in 1950, a pathway to the island was built.  As the last temple in the pilgrimmage, Bentendo hosted a new year’s festival with various food stalls.

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/01/31/twice-the-new-years-luck-the-yanaka-shichifukujin-meguri/

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Yanaka shichifukujin meguri

Established in 1274, Tennoji Temple (護国山天王寺) houses Bishamonten (god of war).  During the Edo period, in 1699, after being closed under suspicion of anti-government activities, Tennoji was reopened as a branch temple of the Kaneiji Temple.  Tennoji, along with Ryusenji (Meguro Fudo) and Yushima Tenmangu, was one of the three great Edo temples, and the temple grounds included Yanaka cemetery, which is the resting place of Tokugawa Yoshinobu (the last Tokugawa shogun).  Tennoji is also home to a big Buddha, called the Tennoji Daibutsu, which was cast in 1690.

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/01/31/twice-the-new-years-luck-the-yanaka-shichifukujin-meguri/

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Yanaka shichifukujin meguri

According to Japanese lore of yore, a person who visits all of the seven gods of good fortune within the first three days of the year will receive good luck for the rest of the year.  The tradition has now evolved to include gathering stamps at each temple or shrine.  This pilgrimage to the seven gods of good fortune is called shichifukujin meguri (七福神 巡り).  “Shichi” (七) means “seven.”  “Fuku” (福) means “fortune.”  “Jin” (神) means “gods.”  “Meguri” (巡り) means “pilgrimage.”  The seven lucky gods are: Ebisu, Daikokuten, Bishamonten, Benzaiten, Hotei, Fukurokuju, and Jurojin.

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/01/31/twice-the-new-years-luck-the-yanaka-shichifukujin-meguri/

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Yamate shichifukujin meguri

Founded in 1670, Zuishoji Temple houses Hotei (god of happiness and good fortune).  An Obaku sect-Buddhist leader established Zuishoji as the main Obaku temple in the Kanto region, and it served as a place of worship for prominent samurai families as well as others.  The main temple hall is a vastly tall, ornate structure with Chinese architectural influences, that dates back to the 1800s.  The modern, sleek courtyard with a raised stage and sakura tree within a water pool was designed by Kengo Kuma in 2018. 

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/01/24/a-new-years-walk-among-the-seven-lucky-gods-yamate-shichifukujin-meguri/

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Yamate shichifukujin meguri

Founded in 1624, Daienji Temple houses Daikokuten (god of wealth, agriculture, and households).  Daienji is also famous for containing Gohyaku-Rakan (500 stone statues of monks who reached enlightenment) in its courtyard as well as numerous other figures.  It is believed that the statues were carved by the Daienji monks as penance for accidentally starting one of the three Great Edo fires; in 1772, a fire spread from the temple and destroyed about one-third of Edo (Tokyo).  Daienji also contains a gold-covered Buddha statue; it is believed that placing a gold leaf on a part of the Buddha’s body will heal the corresponding body part of the person who placed the gold leaf.

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/01/24/a-new-years-walk-among-the-seven-lucky-gods-yamate-shichifukujin-meguri/

[glowinginjapan]

Yamate shichifukujin meguri

According to Japanese lore of yore, a person who visits all of the seven gods of good fortune within the first three days of the year will receive good luck for the rest of the year.  The tradition has now evolved to include gathering stamps at each temple or shrine.  This pilgrimage to the seven gods of good fortune is called shichifukujin meguri (七福神 巡り).  “Shichi” (七) means “seven.”  “Fuku” (福) means “fortune.”  “Jin” (神) means “gods.”  “Meguri” (巡り) means “pilgrimage.”  The seven lucky gods are: Ebisu, Daikokuten, Bishamonten, Benzaiten, Hotei, Fukurokuju, and Jurojin.

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/01/24/a-new-years-walk-among-the-seven-lucky-gods-yamate-shichifukujin-meguri/

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Zojoji Temple 

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/01/23/zojoji-temple-ringing-in-the-new-year/

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Street view of the front gate of Zojoji Temple. 

https://glowinginjapan.wordpress.com/2020/01/23/zojoji-temple-ringing-in-the-new-year/