[Fukushima Prefecture] Can we replace the year's various disasters with "lies"? Iizaka Onsen/Takahata Tenmangu Shrine “Usokae Festival” visit report

Takahata Tenmangu Shrine is located in Iizaka-cho, Fukushima City . At the ``Usokae Festival'' held twice a year in January and April at this shrine, are given lucky charms that have the extremely powerful ability to replace the year's various misfortunes with ``lies

As a result, there is heavy traffic around the shrine every year on festival days, and there are long lines at the awarding place. This time, I will be reporting on my first visit to the Usokae Festival.

By the way, "Usokae Festival" are summarized in the article below.

Tohoku Rokken trivia media: NEFT

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[Fukushima Prefecture] What is Fukushima City's "Usokae Festival"? With a wish to turn disaster into a lie

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/6844

The Usokae Festival is held twice a year at Takahata Tenmangu Shrine in Iizaka-cho, Fukushima City, in the northern part of Fukushima Prefecture. With the wish to turn all misfortune into a lie and turn it into something good. It is a festival where many people come to worship in search of special amulets that can only be obtained at the Usokae Festival. In this article, we will introduce the Takahata Tenmangu Shrine Usokae Festival and explain how to visit it. What is Usokae Festival? The Usokae Festival is a Shinto ritual held with the hope of turning all the bad things from the previous year into lies and turning them into good things. You will receive a carved wooden amulet in the shape of a bird called a heron. The Sagittarius amulet is used as a scapegoat for a year's worth of bad things...

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[AM7:50] When we arrived at the site, the parking lot was already full...

This time I visited on Sunday, January 12, 2025. We left Sendai at around 6:30, where the heavy snow that had fallen on Friday was unusual. Most of the snow on the road had melted, but it was a black ice burn condition where it was unclear whether it was frozen or dry. We drove carefully and arrived at the location around 7:50.

The award ceremony was scheduled to start at 9am, so we arrived with plenty of time to spare.

...However, the parking lot at Takahata Tenmangu Shrine (Nishine Shrine) is already full. When I asked the security guard who was directing traffic, he told me that the nearby JA Fukushima Mirai Fukushima District Headquarters was open as a temporary parking lot for the Usokae Festival.

When I headed straight there, there were still lots of spaces, and I was able to park right away after waiting for a line of 3-4 cars!

Park at JA's temporary parking lot and walk to the shrine in about 5 minutes. When we arrived at the venue around 8 o'clock, there was already a long line.

There is a path of about 80 meters from the Otorii gate of Nishine Shrine, visible in the photo, to the shrine office, which is the awarding place, so you will be seated at a point about 100 meters apart.

At first, I guess I arrived a little early. I thought so, but that was not the case at all. In fact, I wish it had been a little earlier.

According to an article in Fukushima Minpo, those at the front of the line on the 10th, the first day of the festival, had been waiting for about 32 hours, starting around 1:00 a.m. on the 9th the previous day. Too amazing.

After this, the line continues to grow behind me.

【9:00 AM] The line gradually begins to move.

The line gradually begins to move around 8:50, about 10 minutes before the award begins.

There was a flurry of stalls opening on both sides of the approach. The cold weather and hunger from not having breakfast make me want to buy some food, but I'll hold back!

The movement of the line was irregular, and it seemed to move all at once, then stop for a while again. It took about 20 minutes to reach the Sanmon gate.

After passing through the main gate, we waited in three lines in front of the awarding office. This area was the busiest and it took another 20 minutes. Apparently, if there are people buying in large quantities, the line will stop for a while. It's a chance you only get twice a year, so it can't be helped.

[AM10:00] After about two hours of waiting, I met my long-awaited Usodori (Usodori)

It was exactly 10 o'clock when my turn finally came. We started lining up at 8 o'clock and the journey took about 2 hours. It was early in the morning in the snowy winter, so my body was completely cold and I was shivering.

Although we endured the cold, we successfully achieved our goal. We were given a miniature wooden carving of the Usodori, and we also did not forget to visit Takahata Tenmangu Shrine. This year looks like it's going to be a good year.

Next to Takahata Tenmangu Shrine, there was a large number of Sagittarius (Usodori) that had finished their role for one year.

We also found a stall selling souvenirs for visiting the Usokae Festival. There were also dorayaki and steamed buns branded with the Uso-dori (Usodori) stamp, as well as Iizaka's specialty radium eggs. I took the opportunity to buy some dorayaki here as well.

The Donto Festival is held at Nishine Shrine during the same period as the Usokae Festival As I warmed my frozen body over the bonfire, many people came to burn their used-up Sagittarius (Usodori) directly here.

summary

Takahata Tenmangu Shrine is not a large shrine, but the crowd for the Usokae Festival exceeded our expectations. By the time I returned (around 10:30), the line had grown to about 300 meters, and there was a traffic jam in front of the JA Fukushima Mirai temporary parking lot with many cars waiting their turn.

The peak of the day's crowds is around noon, and at peak times the line of people can stretch as far as Totsuna Bridge in front of Iizaka Onsen Station, about 500 meters away

In addition to the super powerful blessing of replacing the year's various misfortunes with lies the item, which can only be obtained twice a year, probably attracts many people.

By the way, the Sagittarius (Spring) that will be awarded at the Usokae Festival in April will have an added premium of being limited to 1000 pieces. It's more competitive...

Based on this experience, if I were to come up with a personal optimal solution for the Usokaesai, I feel it would be `` arrive at the venue at 7:30 and be prepared to wait for two hours.''

If you do that, you'll be able to endure parking and waiting in line with the least amount of stress. By the way, since you will be waiting in the cold for a long time, we recommend that you take precautions against the cold!

Nishine Shrine/Takahata Tenmangu Shrine <Information>

• Name: Nishine Shrine/Takahata Tenmangu Shrine
• Address: 2 Yuno Takahata, Iizaka-cho, Fukushima-shi, Fukushima 960-0211
• Phone: 024-542-6474
• URL: https://www.nishine-takahata.jp/

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