In case you haven't realised, I very much enjoy visiting shrines and temples (and museums and zoos!) around Japan. Practically every temple I went offered fortune-telling services and I had my first fortune, or omikuji, told at Sensoji, in Asakusa. It is one of the few temples that provide English-translated fortunes. Other temples may offer fortunes in languages like Korean or Chinese, if you are lucky. The Japanese omikuji practice is very similar to the 求签 practice in Chinese temples.
Here is the 'box' filled with numbered lots (or sticks) that you shake out politely after dropping a token 100 yen. And the 99 drawers in the background.
Omikuji is numbered and printed on a thin strip of paper, and placed into neat drawers in Sensoji (in other temples, you pick a rolled strip from a box or it is dispensed from a machine). The English translation is printed on the other side.
A very, very quick way to judge your fortune is to look out for the 'grade' of your omikuji - 大 吉 (Very Lucky), 吉 (Lucky), 凶 (Unlucky), and 大 凶 (Very Unlucky).
My Fortune - Lot 99 (大 吉)
... the omikuji tells your fortune in various grades ranging from great blessing to ill luck, and comes with detailed explanations concerning your prospects in health, love, money matters and so on. Some omikuji, rather than telling your fortune, contain a poem that comes with an explanation of a moral.
With more international visitors also going to shrines or temples now, many omikuji are available in English. At Kushida Shrine in Fukuoka, or at Kyoto’s Kinkaku-ji Temple, omikuji written in Korean or Chinese are also for sale. Will you try your luck and see what your fortune will be?
From what I observed, you can keep your omikuji if the fortune is good, otherwise, tie in neatly on the wire rack.
Lastly, I love how Sensoji provides a disclaimer about omikuji - Whether in good or bad fortune, you shuld tenaciously do your best. You can carve out your own fortune. Good luck!
Cost: free
Access: Asakusa Station
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