元旦 / New Year

お寺で鐘を打ったあと、2013年を迎えます。深夜の天気がとても寒いのに、八坂神社に参拝に行きます。それは僕の初詣です。初詣は、歳が明けてから初めて寺社に参拝し、一年の無病息災を折ります。
After participating in the event of striking the Night-watch bell for 108 times, it's time to welcome the year 2013. Despite of the crazy cold weather, I still decided to proceed to pay my respect at 'Yasaka Shrine'. In Japan, the first visit to a shrine each and every year is also known as 'Hatsumoode'. The locals will pray for their well-being for the upcoming year on this visit.

その深夜、天気が寒いものの、八坂神社に参拝に行った人が多いですね。 （もしかすると何十万以上の参拝者があるかもしれません。） Despite of the cold weather, the shrine still managed to attract the attention of a lot of visitors. (In fact, on that very night, there might be more than 100,000 visitors paying their respect at the 'Yasaka Shrine'.)

お寺に参拝してから、大部分の人がお守りを買ったり、 おみくじをひいたりしています。（僕もおみくじとひいていました。(≧∇≦)b ） After paying their respect at the shrine, most people will either buy a lucky amulet, known as 'Omamori', or paper fortune lots, known as 'Omikuji'. (I, myself have went ahead with the 'Omikuji'. O.OV)

それで、様々な料理とお菓子を食べてみました。 （お寺の周りにインド人が辛いインド料理を販売して、とてもびっくりしました！！！ でもね、寒い天気で一番幸せな行動は、辛い料理を食べます。 それはほんまに援けました。） After that, I decided to give some of the food stalls located within the shrine compound a try. (What amazed me the most, was the fact that there was this Indian selling spicy Indian food within the shrine compound. And trust me, by eating spicy food during a cold weather can really help you a lot.)

お腹がいっぱいした後、ホテルにさ早速に戻ります。それで、朝四時ごろホテルに戻りました。寝て起きてから、ビッグサプライズがありますよ。。。（つづく）
After filling up my stomach with lots of food, it's time for me to return to my hotel. By the time I reached the hotel, it's like 4am in the morning and there's a big surprise waiting for me when I woke up... to be continued.

* こちは「八坂神社」の資料です。
* Click here to find out more about 'Yasaka Shrine'.