At the heart of Fukuoka’s festive calendar lies the Toka Ebisu Shrine’s New Year Festival, celebrated in honor of the deity revered for blessing businesses with prosperity. This grand festival has become an integral tradition for the city’s merchants, often considered as pivotal as their initial New Year’s shrine visit, symbolizing a prosperous commencement of their annual business endeavors. The festival’s centerpiece, the “Fortune Draw,” captivates attendees who seek to secure good luck for the year ahead with a variety of auspicious items. A highlight is the 9th-day ‘Kachi-Mairi,’ where Hakata geigis (geisha), adorned in their elegant formal kimonos, grace the shrine with their presence. Adding to the festival’s charm are around 300 vibrant stalls, adorning the shrine’s vicinity and offering an array of lucky charms linked to commerce, like beckoning cats and daruma dolls. From dawn until dusk, the shrine is a hive of activity, teeming with visitors immersed in the joyous spirit of hope and prosperity.
• 1/8 (Mon., hol.) ~ 1/11 (Thu.)
• Shrine office: 1/8 10:00~23:00, 1/9 9:00~1/11 23:00 (open through the night)
• Free entry
• Toka Ebisu Shrine
• 7-1 Higashi-koen, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka
• https://www.tooka-ebisu.or.jp/newyear/specialguide/
• https://www.instagram.com/tookaebisu_official/
* Due to being very crowded, congestion levels are posted on Instagram in four stages.
Kyushu Live – Toka Ebisu & Higashikoen (January 10, 2021)
