We look forward to your continued patronage of Palaceside Building this year.
How did you spend the New Year? By the calendar this year was a six-day break. If you rested from the 26th,
it was nine days off. Did you take it easy? Some of you may still be tired from traveling abroad.
The Kantō region enjoyed a calm, fine New Year. These are photos that reached us, so to speak.
First, photo above: Mount Fuji on New Year's morning, shot from the Tama River levee near the Komae–Chōfu border. Visit the same spot in the evening and you can see a beautiful silhouette = photo right. For Nippon people, it has to be Fuji, right?
Next, a Kantō staple for first shrine visits: Naritasan Shinshō-ji (Narita, Chiba) = photo upper left. With about 3.05 million visitors (2015 New Year), second nationwide after Meiji Jingu, even at noon on the 3rd the crowds were as shown — a good ten minutes in line before you could pray.
The next first sunrise was from the levee of the Shin-Nakagawa near Koiwa, Edogawa Ward (6:57 a.m. on the 1st) = photo lower left. Seeing this means good things will surely come this year!
A little trip, too. In the spirit of “nothing to do, but …” — the whole family made a round trip to Kōfu Station on New Year's Day though we had no business there. Outbound on the Super Azusa, return on the Kaiji. Despite the name difference, Kaiji, which stops here and there, had a newer car and was more comfortable. As proof we went somewhere, we photographed the bronze statue of Takeda Shingen in front of the station = photo upper right. Between Shōsen-grape Country and Enzan stations the Southern Alps looked beautiful across the Kōfu basin = photo lower right.
Finally, Shōin Shrine (Setagaya). NHK's “Hana Moyu” flopped last year, but Shōin-sensei is eternal. Hoping for blessings, we drew omikuji and got the usual
“Great Blessing” = photo left. Wishes: “At first not as hoped, but later surely good”; person awaited: “slow but will come”; business: “haste brings loss”;
market: “volatile — wait for now”; marriage: “will come true later” … overall, the mood is that things improve toward the end. Believe it or not, as you like.
We pray that this year will be a good one for you all.