My wife has heard from someone that in Japan people visit shrines and temples on New Year's Day, and she wants to go.
We have not been to Hatsumode for several years except for company visits. Moreover, there is no suitable place for Hatsumode in Ryukesaki City.
I suppose it would be better to go to the local Ujigami Shrine, but I don't know which one is the Ujigami Shrine.
I thought I could go to Hoshimiya Shrine, which I visited twice last year, but I decided to go to Ushiku Daibutsu, which has an azimuthal direction.
A 20-minute bus ride from Ushiku Station, next to Ryukesaki City, brings us to Ushiku Daibutsu.
The 120-meter statue of the Great Buddha is the Amitabha Nyorai, and it is indeed a large statue when seen up close.
All this time, I thought it must have been built by some temple to make money. But when I looked into it, I found that it was built by Higashi Honganji temple of the Jodo Shinshu sect. My family belongs to the Higashi Honganji sect of Jodo Shinshu. I am a follower of the temple, so I have a close relationship with it and can visit it with pride.
The right hand is on top and the left hand is on the bottom, with the thumb and forefinger of each hand forming a circle, which is said to be a sign to guide people to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. The Amida Nyorai Buddha is a very grateful being who can lead people to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss simply by chanting "Namu Amida Butsu".
Unlike a shrine, there is no hall of worship, but there is a large incense burner, so my wife and I each offer a bundle of incense.
Usually, there is a fee to enter the temple, but during the New Year's holiday, it was free of charge as it is called Shusho-e, a puja to pray for good fortune in the new year.
Although it was only a short visit, there was a nakamise, food stalls, and Ushiku Kappa Daiko drum performance on the stage.
When we returned to Ryukazaki Station after the New Year's visit, I saw a microbus with "Sensho Shrine" written on the destination.
I looked up the name of the shrine and found that it was located in Tsukuba City. I wondered if it was far from Tsukuba City, but a map showed that it was only 5 to 6 km away, so it was not impossible to walk there, but there is a free shuttle bus service from the west exit of Ryukesaki Station from the night of New Year's Eve to the third day of the New Year. Let's go to Senkatsu Shrine for next year's Hatsumode (New Year's visit).
