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Benzaiten

Five Japanese shrines to visit for wealth and prosperity in the Year of the Snake

Japan has many shrines linked to prosperity, but these five are considered some of the best for boosting financial luck.

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Travel secrets: East Japan’s own Monet Pond and Kiyomizu in Tochigi【Photos】

It’s a long walk up the mountain, but they’re worth it.

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Tokyo’s moe temple is now selling Buddhist goddess anime figures

A few years ago, a temple called Ryohoji in Tokyo’s Hachioji district started to use moe girls – cute-sexy adolescent anime characters – to promote the temple. They put up a new sign at the entrance with moe girls explaining the temple grounds. The temple has become a minor tourist destination for pilgrimaging otaku, and is commonly known as moe-dera (“moe temple”).

Until the moe temple came along, people interested in both Buddhist iconography and youthful cartoon girls had to enjoy their two hobbies separately. But now, the clever people at Ryohoji have come up with this official moe figure of Benzaiten. Maybe they thought the goddess needed a little anime improvement…

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