TOKYO: Shinto shrines across Japan are seeing the number of people making New Year’s visits fall substantially compared with usual years, as many of them refrained from accepting visitors through overnight hours and took other coronavirus countermeasures.

Meiji Jingu, a major Shinto shrine in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, which had some 3.18 million visitors over the first three days of last year, did not accept overnight visits through New Year’s Day this year and placed markings on the ground for social distancing.

“We thought we might have more visitors as many people canceled their trips to their hometowns” and chose to stay in the Tokyo area during this winter holiday period, said Atsunori Mizutani, 62, a “negi” senior priest at Meiji Jingu. “But it turned out that we’re having less than a half of visitors compared with last year.”

Shops that used to open within the premises of Meiji Jingu to offer food and drinks to people making New Year’s visits were all gone this year.

For Makiko Kuroki, 73, and her husband, Tetsunori, 70, from Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, it had become customary to enjoy “omiki sacred” sake and “oden” traditional Japanese stew at Meiji Jingu when they make New Year’s visits to the shrine. But Makiko said, with a regretful look on her face, that the couple could not do that this year.

Tetsunori said he prayed that the coronavirus will subside so that people can return to their previous lives as soon as possible.

At Ikuta Shrine in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, whose Jan. 1-3 visitors reach around 1 million in usual years, lines of visitors were formed only occasionally in front of the shrine building on New Year’s Day this year.

A 78-year-old man who visits Ikuta Shrine every year said, “I hope the coronavirus epidemic will come to an end and this year will be a joyful year for everyone.”

Visitors also decreased at department stores in Japan on their respective first business days this year, reflecting people’s efforts to avoid crowded places.

An outlet of major department store operator Takashimaya Co. in the western city of Osaka saw the number of people lining up before its opening on the first business day fall by more than 90 pct compared with usual years on Saturday morning.

A corporate worker from the city of Osaka in his 40s who visited the Takashimaya store with his wife to buy a present for a family member said, “We came here with just the two of us, to keep the number of visitors to the minimum at a time like this.”

A woman from Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, in her 60s who enjoys visiting the store every year with her friends to buy “fukubukuro” New Year’s lucky bags was alone this year. “I’ll leave as soon as I buy foodstuff” because of fear of getting infected, said the woman wearing a face shield on top of her face mask.

JIJI Press