I’m often inspired while I am traveling to become a ‘local’ – in other words, to act in, live in, and breath in the atmosphere and the ambiance of the places that I am visiting – as if I am a local person. Therefore, I don’t just concentrate on the famous or well-known tourist and sightseeing spots (although I don’t ignore them either), but I love to learn about how people actually live en droit and how they eat, shop, and entertain themselves in the place where they actually call home.
NOTE: Photo Captions for pics below. The photos in the post were all taken on the grounds of Okunitama Shrine. In some cases, the photos can only be taken by those who have some business or special purpose for attending the shrine as what happened on the day that some of these photos were taken. It was the coming of age celebration (30-days-old) for my newly-born granddaughter, Sara, which is a traditional Shinto ceremony that stems from the fact that in ancient Japan it was considered a good sign of life and a cause of celebration if a newborn infant lived, in fact, to at least to be one month old. So many families with newborn sons and daughters take the child to their local shrine for this 30-40 minute long commemoration of of the infant’s actual existence. 
The photo just below shows my older son and his wife, who are the parents of Sara, mentioned above. (the 2 children are not shown) Mikio and Yuki often accompany us when we have a reason to go to the shrine, or to do an errand nearby. Further, my wife’s niece held her marriage here a few years back. Additionally, the shrine complex is located very near good shopping at Fuchu Station and the Fuchu City Office. Plus, it always has plenty of parking, the cost of which is defrayed by spending 2000 yen (roughly $20 US) at one the local merchants nearby.
Further, in my typical Google Maps reviews, I don’t simple prattle on about what is perfectly obvious and I frequently try to share something that people can’t know without actually visiting there, or something that’s noteworthy about the culture that surrounds the place and its activities. Therefore, when I have the opportunity to engage with the local inhabitants, I ask them about what they like about the place where they are now and what they recommend as being noteworthy of visiting and experiencing in their locale. It’s amazing what such simple questions can produce as far as travel advice and opening one’s eyes to heretofore unseen or unheard of travel experiences.
Take for example my (frequent) visits to Ohkumitama Shrine, located not far from Fuchu Station in west Tokyo on the Keio Train Line. It’s actually a very old Buddhist temple that has existed since the 12th century, and lies along the famous Tokaido Road that extends from Edo (Tokyo’s ancient name) all the way to Nara and Kyoto, the former ancient capitals of Japan in times passed.
Ohkunitama Jinja (or Shrine) is one the largest ones in the Tokyo area and boasts a long paved walkway up to the gated ‘torii’ entrance of the expansive shrine. This walkway begins on a couple of hundred meters from the Keio Fuchu train station, which is about 20 minutes by express train from Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station. There is a year-round calendar of activities at the Ohkunitama Jingu (shrine) and it is also a place where many family-related Shinto events also occur. For example, Shinto weddings are conducted on an almost daily basis, and well as coming-of-age celebrations for new born babies, and for three-year old, five-year-old and seven-year-old children, those usually occurring in mid-November each year.
One of the most interesting and also most traditional times to visit any Shinto shrine in Japan is during the New Year’s holiday - on either December 31 (just after midnight on January 1st) and in the ensuing days in January, the 2nd, 3rd, etc, to participate in ‘hatsu-mode’ or the New Year’s first shrine visit for commemorating the arrival of the New Year. It’s traditional to bring along with you last year’s New York memorabilia and good luck charms which you bought at this very shrine during the previous year’s New Year’s celebrations. These items often include a ceremonial arrow, for reaching your intended target goal for the coming year, or a daruma (an effigy of the sainted monk, Dharma) who lost his arms and legs as he sat for so long in prayerful meditation. The ‘last new year’s’ items are placed on the bonfire to be burned as offering to the spirits of New Year’s past. So then, the shrine-goers will be able to buy brand new New Year amulets, arrows, and ‘daruma(’ figurines to commemorate the coming brand New Year.
Often there are multitudes of shrine-goers at even the wee hours of the morning on January 1st, so it make take an hour or more for you to finally reach the shrine alms offering box, where you bow at the waist, and then toss in some coins into the huge wooden box, and then clap your hands twice, and then bow to pray for happiness, strength or mercy in the New Year in order to achieve your intended purpose. Then you bow once more time to finish your pilgrimage to the shrine, and turn to the left or right to exit, as there may be literally hundreds, even thousands of people, waiting patiently behind you for their turn to pray.
In much the same way as I did in this post, I have attempted to impart some important, even critical , cultural knowledge about the places I visit, and about the activities associated with them in many of my Google Maps reviews. I will continue doing this as long as I can still travel and write.
Thanks for reading.
David Lewis Brooks
American Expat Resident of Tokyo since 1979 to the present
Frequent world traveler