New Year with a Fukubukuro (Lucky Bag) for dogs and a first shrine visit to Hie Shrine

Happy 2023!
We welcomed the New Year in Japan very peacefully since Bandit was still recovering from his neutering surgery. I don't usually get Lucky Bags for myself, but I decided to splurge and get one for Bandit from the Pet Forest pet shop near my home. For 1000 yen (with the exchange rate now, it's between $8~$10 US dollars), I was surprised at everything included in the Lucky Bag for puppies! The value was way more than the 1000 yen we paid and all of the products are things we like and use.

My "hatsumoude" or first shrine visit was to Hie Shrine. It was my first time to visit this particular shrine and I had no idea about this shrine so I was very pleasantly surprised. For tourists or people who find it quite challenging to visit shrines because of huge crowds, physical challenges, or the inability to travel to shrines that have picturesque red torii gates, I would highly recommend Hie Shrine. It's easily accessible and quite stunning to see the contrast of the shrine smack in the middle of the city!

Hie Shrine: https://www.hiejinja.net/
Pet Forest: http://www.petforest.co.jp/

Thank you, Canva at https://www.canva.com/ for your help creating thumbnails.
Thank you, Epidemic Sound at https://www.epidemicsound.com/ for your selection of music.

Here's wishing everyone a very happy, healthy, and magical new year! Thank you so much for your support over the years and for the encouragement to keep trying and challenging myself to do better.

xox