Experience the Japanese New Year Tradition ⛩️🇯🇵 | The first sunrise of 2024 🌅 | Japan Travel

Experience the Japanese New Year Tradition ⛩️🇯🇵 | The first sunrise of 2024 🌅 | Japan Travel

Hello, everyone. This time, we have come to Oarai Town in Ibaraki Prefecture. Today is January 1st, 2024. In Japan, there is a culture of watching the sunrise on New Year’s Day, and then visiting a shrine to pray for good fortune throughout the year.

Oarai is a popular spot known for its beautiful sunrise, so we decided to visit this time! It’s about a 3-hour journey from Tokyo by train or car. It takes about 25 minutes on foot from Oarai Station to the coast. The sunrise in this area is around 6:50 AM.

About 20 minutes to go. 🌅 The coast is bustling with many people gathered to see the sunrise. What you see in the back is the “Kamiiso no Torii” standing in the sea. ⛩️ The torii of a nearby shrine has become a popular spot with a scenic view. Let’s move towards the Torii later.

Is it about time? Here comes the sunrise! ☀ It’s so bright that you can’t look directly at it! The sun peeking from the horizon is incredibly beautiful. Now, let’s move towards the Torii. It’s crowded. We’ve come quite close to the Torii. Oh, how beautiful. 🌊

There’s a bird perched on the torii, making it mysterious. 🐦 A lovely view that you can gaze at forever. Let’s walk a bit further along the coastline. And go to those stairs and climb up. The sun has risen quite a bit, and it’s becoming bright and warm. It’s quite congested. 😅

Let’s walk along the road and visit the nearby shrine. Leave the coast, and walk straight on the road for about 3 minutes. More and more people and cars are coming. This is an information board about the Torii in the sea we saw earlier. We’ve arrived at the shrine.

The line for worship extends up… The end of the line is far ahead. Finally, we arrived. We waited for about 30 minutes, and we reached the bottom of the Torii. Clear and refreshing weather with not a single cloud. The approach is filled with many wishing stones. Even the guardian lion-dogs have piled stones.

The view from the middle of the stairs is nice and refreshing. Passing through the upper torii, there are several stalls in operation. The smell of yakisoba and fried potatoes is enticing. Happy New Year. Intricate carvings catch the eye. The round decoration in front is called “Chinowa-kuguri.”

It is said to purify the mind and body, ward off disasters, and pray for good health. The way to pass through it seems to vary by shrine. The main hall is just a little further. I offered a donation and made a prayer.

Next to the main hall, there is a large ema (votive plaque) depicting the dragon, the zodiac sign for this year. 🐉 The line for worship is still quite long. Now, let’s take a look at amulets and charms here. Various-sized kumade (decorative rakes). Several types of protective arrows are also available.

I bought one of the smallest made, and a zodiac wind chime. The right side is the stall we visited earlier, and on the opposite left side, they are selling amulets. Various types of charms, including traffic safety charms and good luck charms. Let’s go outside the precincts.

Right next to it, I found a tent distributing warm amazake! Since my body is cold, I’ll have a cup. The amount is optional. Steam is rising. It’s warm and delicious. 😊 Thank you for the meal. Now, let’s go down the stairs and head to the road.

I’m starting to get hungry, so let’s go eat. The restaurant is about a 10-minute walk from the shrine. We’ve arrived at the restaurant we were aiming for. It seems we can enjoy luxurious fish dishes at this restaurant. Let’s GO GO. There are many types of seafood bowls and set meals! Today’s recommended menu.

Since it’s full, we’ll write our names on the list and wait our turn. Looking at the pamphlet, the menu is also listed here. Next to the restaurant is a beachside grilling corner and a souvenir shop. Many fresh seafood souvenirs are being sold. Oysters, scallops, whelks, shrimp, and more. 🐟🦐

After waiting for about 30 minutes, it’s finally our turn. Warm tea is soothing to the body~! The bowl is good, but since it’s New Year’s, I want to eat a luxurious meal. By the way, Oarai is famous for anglerfish, so there are many anglerfish dishes on the menu.

There are various menu options, but we ordered set meals! The inside of the restaurant has a unique atmosphere. Various fish introductions are posted on the walls. On the table, there’s a teapot, soy sauce, chopsticks, and a hand towel. The dishes have arrived~! Looks delicious!! This is a salt-grilled tuna headset meal.

The set meal includes rice, miso soup, a small side dish, pickles, and sashimi, very luxurious! This is a simmered black flounder set meal. The set meal includes three kinds of sashimi. The anglerfish is served in a figure shape. The transparent eyes show how fresh it is.

Let’s eat while dismantling the tuna head. It’s incredibly powerful. 😳 It’s quite fatty, so it goes well with lemon and grated radish. They cook it after you order, so it’s very delicious when it’s freshly made. The simmered fish is also fluffy and delicious~! The accompanying green onions also go well.

Let’s try the sashimi too. Flatfish. Horse mackerel. Anglerfish. We also ordered the classic anglerfish liver. Let’s enjoy it with plenty of grated daikon. It’s rich and very delicious. Thank you for the meal. Both the taste and portion were satisfying! It’s time to go home. Did you enjoy this video?

Please subscribe, like, and comment on our channel if you liked it. Thank you very much for watching. 🙇🏻‍♂️🙇🏻‍♀️

This time, we visited Oarai Town in Ibaraki Prefecture.
This coastal area is a popular spot known for its beautiful sunrise and the torii gate of a shrine floating in the sea.

🖥️Website:
Oarai Isosaki Shrine
https://www.oarai-isosakijinja.net/

Kaisen Donburi-Tei
http://www.oarai-kaisen.com/donburi/index

🗺️ Access
Kashima Rinkai Railway Oarai Kashima Line: Get off at “Oarai Station” → 25 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by taxi
MAP: https://maps.app.goo.gl/yDcvXRDrjUMrVWRV8

⌛️Table of Contents
0:00 Opening
0:44 Oarai Port
1:18 Oarai Coast
1:51 New Year’s Sunrise
2:35 Kamiiso no Torii
3:39 Oarai Isosaki Shrine
6:48 Kaisen Donburi-Tei

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#JapaneseNewYearTradition #Japan #Experience
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※Prices are as of the time of filming and may vary depending on the season and plan.