A New Year custom in which people visit the small Sarutahiko Shrine from early morning to line up and buy monkey masks handmade by Hakata ningyo doll makers. The masks are hung in front of houses to ward off evil spirits, as the Japanese word for “monkey” (saru) is a homophone of the word “go away.” Read more about this unique event here.
• 1/18 (Sat.)
• 5:30~19:00
• Free entry (monkey mask: ¥1,000)
• Sarutahiko Shrine
• 1-1-41 Fujisaki, Sawara-ku
• 092-823-0089
• http://sarutahiko-fukuoka.jp/
Originally published in Fukuoka Now Magazine (fn253, Jan 2020)
