DAY 8: Hatsumode in Kanazawa
Happy New Year of the Snake!
A really short one as I still wasn’t feeling well and the weather was still fairly terrible.
We were however, excited to participate in Hatsumode, the practice of visiting a Japanese shrine or temple within the first 3 days of the new year. As it was the year of the Snake, also the year I was born, I was told 2025 was a year where I have be careful in general. With that in mind, as well as the opportunity to participate in local customs, we headed to the nearby shrine in the morning.
Arriving at the nearby Oyama Shrine, It was already crowded, but not as bad as when I visited Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on New Year’s Day in 2018. The Oyama Shrine is fascinating as its main gate was actually based on Dutch architecture and the top part was originally used as a lighthouse. The remainder of the shrine buildings were inspired by a mix of Japanese and Chinese influences.
It was a very well managed affair. Officers were present with signs to remind visitors not to be “hasty”. Near the main steps, two pairs of officers held ropes that would be raised to allow visitors through. Having two pairs meant that they were still able to ward off a path so that others may walk through the crowds easily.
After paying our respects, we got our special New Year goshuin stamps as well as a number of omamori charms for friends and family.
goshuin from Oyama Jinja
Cherry and I are started feeling hungry and headed towards Omicho market in search of food. On the way we stopped by the Ozaki shrine which wasn’t as crowded but was significant as it was built to enshrine Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was built by the Maeda and Kaga Clan to show their loyalty towards the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period.
goshuin from Ozaki Jinja — note the crest on the top is the crest of the Tokugawa clan
From the Ozaki shrine, it was a short 7 minute walk to the market through the back streets. It was quiet as expected. Other than the popular spots in Omicho market, the rest of the market was closed. Rather than queue, we headed towards Kanazawa station.
The giant structure built in the semblance of a Torii gate at the front of Kanazawa Station
Most department stores were closed but the ones by the station were still open. We did a bit of shopping at Uniqlo nearby and found a b-side label store. B-side label sells high quality pop art inspired vinyl stickers and we bought some New Year’s and winter exclusive ones.
Many stores were selling fukubukoro or lucky bags, a custom for New Year’s here. They are filled with a random assortment of goods that are sold for 50% of their original price.
Eventually, we ditched the crowded shopping mall and headed off in search for food. We found a popular Kyoto franchise, Katsugyu, which serves gyu-katsu. The unique bit was they serve the cutlets cooked to medium but each person has their own mini grill pot to heat it up to the desired doneness. Each set comes with an assortment of sauces such as tonkatsu sauce, curry and Onsen egg with shoyu.
We opted for the Hida beef set which is special to this region!
Very, very tasty. My favorite dipping sauce is still the Onsen egg with a bit of wasabi.
The total came to 13,156 yen (roughly $135 AUD). Pretty pricey for the chain restaurant but that’s what happens when we get on the Hida beef hype train. No regrets.
We pretty much took the rest of the afternoon to rest and by this time, the weather was certainly threatening to rain down on us again.
A return to Kanazawa for us is a must. Unfortunately, due to our travel period coinciding with January 1st, we did have to leave one of the cities to be “sacrificed”. Coupled with my illness, we opted for the rest option with convenience store bentos for dinner.
Tomorrow, we leave Kanazawa to catch the Hida Limited Express train from Toyama, towards Takayama.
Hope everyone else had a lovely New Year’s Day like we did!
