Nagaoka Temple (Sayonara Kame-Sama)
Friday November 3, 2006

At midnight on Nov.3 it is said that all 808 Gods gather in a temple in Nagaoka. Thousands of people flock to this temple to buy candles to place on the temple’s grounds to send up prayers to the Gods, in hopes that they will soon be answered. It is said that through the orange smoke, people can see Gods traveling to the temple around midnight. They take the shape of orange phoenixes and thousands of Japanese people actually think that they can see these Gods here on Earth. It was strange to see these Japanese people oohing and awing/ pointing at moths, ashes, birds and basically anything that moved in the sky claiming that they were Gods. Nevertheless, I figured I could get all the help I could get and bought into the whole praying idea. I bought 2 candles and wrote my prayer/wish on each one in KANJI! The first one was a prayer to keep my family and friends healthy and safe…and the second one was a wish for whatever was in my head at the time of placing the candles on the alters. I actually surprised myself with my one wish. Here are the pictures from that night with Makiko and Wil.

The Entrance to the TempleThe outside viewThe inside-- it was huge and beautiful (Kore wa hirokute, kiree dsehita)

The most expensive candles Ive ever bought...and maybe the most important if they do what they are really supposed to

The vegatable sacrifices from local farmers @ the shrine

what should I pray for?

The orange smoke sent up by thousands of candles

Our prayers...