How to Read Omikuji

A typical omikuji, or fortune slip, in Japan.

A popular thing to do when visiting a shrine or temple in Japan is to draw an “omikuji”, or fortune slip. These are not your average fortune printed at some factory sitting inside your fortune cookie (whose origins can be traced back to tsujiura senbei (辻占煎餅) in Kyoto, Japan).

Tsujiura senbei, the world's first fortune cookie

Omikuji are highly detailed fortunes with full explanations and analysis of love, health, business, and so forth, more akin to your daily horoscope. That being said, not all fortunes are good luck! Be prepared for some bad news, the kind predicting you’ll be having the worst year of your life. After all, omikuji aren’t rolled inside sweet vanilla-flavored cookies.

Once you’ve worked up the nerve to take on “your fate”, follow these steps for reading your omikuji.

Last Update of Izanau Articles

Today I have some unfortunate news to share: the website that I have been writing for as a freelancer since April 2016, www.izanau.com, has been suspended. Luckily the site will still be up, just not receiving any updates from now on, so you can still check out all of my articles (I've Been Writing Up a Storm! Check Out my Articles!, Even More Articles, and Special Announcement on Update of Freelance Articles). I've listed my final six articles below! It was fun while it lasted, and it was basically my dream job combining my love of writing with Japan. The plus side is there will be a bunch of new blogs coming soon that didn't make it all the way to publication with izanau! Thanks for reading!

Big in Japan: Who and What is Moomin?

Moomin, a hippopotamus-like character created by Finnish author Tove Jansson, has been wildly popular throughout the years in Japan. Lake Miyazawa will be home to the first Moomin theme park outside of Finland and is set to open in 2017.

Japanese Style Pastas Blend East with West

East meets West, spaghetti style!

Pasta is good. There’s no question about that – a perfect concoction of energy giving carbs that you can dress up any way you please and is versatile with nearly any flavor combination (Buddy the Elf’s breakfast spaghetti, anyone?). While the Japanese are known to be one of the world’s biggest rice lovers, when they’re not chowing down on the white stuff they’ll usually be tucking into a giant bowl of noodles, the second most popular carb option. The Japanese are experts with noodles, not just the plain spaghetti stuff – thick, soft udon, thin and chewy ramen, fine somen, and firm soba. When it comes to plain old spaghetti, you’ll find Japan has a lot to offer besides standard marinara or alfredo sauce.

At Japanese pasta restaurants the menu reflects a mix of Western and Asian flavors unique to the country.