Sound the Bells

This is the end of the large rope that rings the bell at Hikawa Shrine (氷川神社). The proper way to pray varies slightly depending on the shrine but many go like this:

1. Step up and ring the bell

2. Bow twice

3. Clap twice

4. Pray (don't forget to say your name!) and throw coins in offering box

5. Bow once

Pretty simple right?

The reason we ring the bells and clap before we pray is, not only to wake up the gods and get their attention, but the sound also purifies our aura and allows us to communicate more clearly with the gods.

Jam Packed

Doesn't this look like a bunch of little boxes squished together?

It's actually a part of Shinjuku with a mix of houses, apartments, and office buildings and also schools here and there. And smack in the middle is a river flowing through.

If you look closely, you can also see that some of the roof tops still have the snow from yesterday. It was a glorious morning today with snow glittering everywhere. There were also a lot of people slipping and sliding down the sidewalk. Couldn't help laughing!

Hope you're day was filled with laughter, too!

Winters Night

The day started out cloudy, then rainy...but by night it was (drum roll please...) snowing!!!

I've been mumbling and grumbling about how if it was going to be this cold, it might as well snow. Well, someone must have heard me because it really did snow. We don't often get snow like this in Shinjuku so I'm kinda excited, in case you couldn't tell!

And what is the point of having snow if you aren't going to make a snowman?

Cold Cold Rain

Hi friends! How are you?

It's been raining a lot here in Shinjuku. I like rain in the summer but not this cold rain in the winter. It has me shivering every time I step outside.

I'll be posting a couple of black and white photos this week because everything looks kind of blah in color. Hope you're all enjoying your weekend!

Where To?

Just a random sign I saw the other day.

I'm guessing it's French (because anything I can't read or pronounce is usually French). Made me curious to see where or what it was pointing to.