I said a little prayer for you.....

After 3 days and absolute nothingness it was time to return to the semi-real world and report for work on Friday morning.

We didn’t actually have anything to do and, seeing as there was only a small number of us, Yuji decided to take us to Fujisaki Shrine for our New Year visit. He does this every year and Mr. Ben was not in the mood but we all trudged along anyway.

Going to a shrine (in most cases more than one) is a very important part of Japanese New Year celebrations. You get to say your prayers for the coming year and purchase a whole range of good luck charms, fortunes and decorations.

So we threw our money in – clapped – bowed and made our wishes for the New Year. I also decided to buy a fortune. They come in all shapes and sizes and are usually split up by birthday, birth month or blood type. Inside you usually get a piece of paper which will tell you how lucky your fortune is (bad, fair, good) and, if you buy the more expensive ones, you will get a deeper analysis looking at love, work, travel and money etc.

Luckily for me this one was a good fortune – yay!