During the New Year holidays, I heard that “free sake” was being handed out at Naruo Hachiman Shrine, so I went to take a look〜
Around 1:15 a.m. on January 1. Yep, it was happening〜
Here it is on the map↓
The address is 14-21 Kaminaruocho, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture.
Ohhh, they really are serving free sake〜〜〜!
It’s Hakutaka, Nishinomiya’s pride〜〜!
They even had a Tigers version〜
They kindly asked, “Would you like a cup?” but I had driven there, so sadly I had to pass〜.
But I did get some fukuame lucky candy〜〜. Apparently it’s made using a traditional method. I got the blue one. It was so good〜
本日はふるまい酒を約500杯お配りしました☺️
お子様には福飴をお渡ししております。会いに来てくださった方ありがとうございました！
明日も9時30分から15時頃まで鳴尾八幡神社でお手伝いをします！— 森けんと 西宮市議会議員 (@k_ketmn) January 1, 2025
Apparently, they handed out as many as 500 cups on January 1 alone. No wonder it’s popular.
The Revival of Naruo Hachiman Shrine
As for Naruo Hachiman Shrine,
there was a time when its roof was damaged by typhoon debris, the original priest was gone, and weeds had grown all over the place, leaving it looking almost abandoned. This was in 2019.
In 2021, a priest came over from Nishinomiya Shrine,
and the soil was improved,
with local volunteers taking action to help bring the shrine back to life〜
There were signs of its revival, like cherry blossoms blooming,
This was the summer festival held in 2022 for the first time in a while. It really shows that everyone had been hoping for the shrine’s revival〜
