There is a small island in Karatsu Bay.
It is called Takashima (高島),
and according to people who have already visited,
it is such a small island that there is not much to see.
Yet strangely,
this small island receives a lot of visitors.
It is not like it has any remarkable natural scenery.
They all visit a small shrine called Hoto Shrine (宝当神社).
A shrine whose name means “winning treasure.”
Unusually, it is said to be effective for winning the lottery.
This is just something I have heard,
but apparently there are quite a few people
who actually won the lottery after praying here.
So what can I do?
I had to go as well.
I need to pray to win the lottery.
I boarded the ferry departing at 14:00.
A staff member came out,
collected the fare directly, and handed out tickets.
I had prepared cash in advance,
thinking only cash would be accepted,
but credit cards were also available.
When I asked about ICOCA cards,
they said those were not accepted.
It takes about 10 minutes to reach Takashima.
Maybe because the ferry is not very large,
it was almost full.
Some people even had to stand.
There are locals, but most are tourists,
and since it is such a small island,
you keep running into the same people.
You will probably end up taking the same ferry back as well.
Once the ferry departs,
a huge engine noise and vibration begin.
It is so loud that you wonder if this is really okay.
I sat at the very back of the ferry to enjoy the view,
but the vibration made my hips hurt,
so I had to stand up.
It only takes about 10 minutes to reach Takashima,
but during that short time,
looking out over the wide-open Karatsu Bay was quite enjoyable.
Except for the massive engine noise.
After getting off the ferry, people start walking left and right.
There is no need to worry.
You can go either way.
The island is so small,
and all the paths eventually lead to Hoto Shrine anyway.
If you want to follow the signs,
take the path on the left side of the map.
It is a very small and quiet rural village.
It took less than five minutes
after getting off the ferry to reach the shrine.
A small torii gate stands beside an alley.
Once you pass through it,
there is an office on the left selling things like omamori (お守り),
and benches on the right where you can sit and rest.
In front of the benches,
there is a place to wash your hands.
It is where you clean your hands and mouth before praying.
It may look like a drinking fountain,
but you should not scoop the water to drink.
The people who came on the same ferry
were lined up in front of the main hall.
I tried to walk around the back of the shrine for a moment,
but there was nothing.
Really, nothing at all.
So I came back and stood at the end of the line as well.
When I travel in Japan,
I usually do not pray at shrines
if I do not know which deity is enshrined.
But this place is known for “lottery luck,”
so I decided I would definitely pray this time.
I stood at the back of the line
and carefully watched how the people in front were praying.
They knelt down,
threw a coin,
clapped twice,
then kept their hands together,
closed their eyes,
and prayed.
When they finished,
they opened their eyes,
bowed with their hands still together,
and then stood up and left.
I did exactly the same.
I sincerely prayed that I would win the lottery.
But!
Later, I heard from the manager of Gojukon that,
you have to buy a lottery ticket first and then go to the shrine to pray,
and when you pray,
you must say who you are and where you are from,
so the god does not get confused and can grant your wish.
I just prayed for what I wanted and left.
Wait,
if it is a god,
does it not even know who I am?
If it cannot even do that,
can it really make me win the lottery?
Well, anyway.
After returning to Korea,
I checked two lottery tickets I had bought earlier.
I won 5,000 won. (about $3)
So… does this actually work? Haha.
Even after getting off the ferry
and finishing my prayer at the shrine,
less than 30 minutes had passed.
Maybe around 15 minutes.
I slowly walked through the alleys of the village.
It is just a quiet and peaceful rural village.
Other than the tourists who came on the same ferry,
there are hardly any people.
In the meantime, a few cats wander around.
They act like they own the place,
not even startled by people,
just roaming the alleys.
There was nowhere else to walk,
so I came back to the pier.
There were already quite a few people waiting for the next ferry.
I arrived on the 14:00 ferry
and left on the 15:00 ferry.
One hour (or about 50 minutes, excluding the 10-minute ride)
is more than enough to look around the shrine and the small village.
Now I plan to go back to Karatsu
and visit places like the former Takatori residence and Karatsu Shrine.
On the way back,
I think I will sit inside the ferry and get a bit of rest.
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