Wishing for a good start to the New Year, many in Japan visit temples, shrines
![](https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/senso-ji-23-0101.jpg)
People gather to make their New Year’s visit to Sensoji, a temple in Taito Ward, Tokyo, early on Sunday morning.
11:51 JST, January 1, 2023
Crowds eager for blessings on the first day of 2023 flocked to temples and shrines across Japan from the wee hours of the morning on Sunday.
As the world welcomes a third New Year’s Day since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, living with the novel coronavirus has become more routine.
At Sensoji, the famed temple in the Asakusa district of Tokyo, a huge crowd thronged the grounds and flowed all the way outside Kaminarimon, the main gate usually decorated with a large red lantern. The temple said it expects to receive over 2.5 million people across the first three days of this year.
An office worker in his 30s from Yokohama had waited in line to pray at the temple since New Year’s Eve.
“I hope war and the pandemic will end soon,” he said regarding his wishes for the New Year.
Although coronavirus infections continue to spread during the eighth wave of the pandemic, many people are expected to make the traditional first visit of the year to temples and shrines this week.
"Society" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Japan Court OKs Sex Change without Surgery
-
3 Climbers Die On Mt. Fuji Within 2 Days Of Opening; Japan Police, Guides Urge Climbers To Prepare Well, Make Wise Decisions
-
Sex Crime Perpetrators Linked to U.S. Military in 166 Cases in Japan over 35 years; Local, Prefectural Governments Often Not Aware of Crimes
-
New Mt. Fuji Rules Reduce ‘Bullet Climbers’ by 90%; Access to Japan’s Iconic Peak Limited from Yamanashi Pref. Side
-
Tokaido Shinkansen Trains Suspended Between Hamamatsu and Nagoya Due to Accident; Resuming Services Expected Noon at Earliest
JN ACCESS RANKING