New Year's strange religious event, "Chikuwa toss" in Japan

Chikuwa is a distinctive food that is probably only eaten in Japan. To elaborate further, Chikuwa is made by grinding white fish like pollock into a smooth paste, wrapping it around a bamboo or metal stick, then grilling or steaming it. Once cooked, it's removed from the stick, giving it its signature hollow shape. It’s shaped like a stick with a hole in the middle. It’s white, and the outside is browned with flame.

Late on New Year's Eve, I visited the local Shinto shrine located in Nagahama City, Japan. In the worship hall, a big ice sculpture of the 2026 zodiac animal, the horse, was carved by the craftsmen just before and enshrined there.

The view of the worship hall of this Shrine in the morning on the New Year's Day.

The big ice sculpture of the 2026 zodiac animal, the horse.

 The cycle of the 12 animals (the 12 zodiac signs)

Listening to the witty banter of a local rakugo storyteller, we waited for the New Year countdown.

When it hits midnight, the shrine maidens began the traditional “chikuwa toss” ritual. 

When she tosses the small bags of chikuwa (yellow arrow), everyone scrambles to grab them. In some bags, the winning tickets are enveloped. A total of two thousand chikuwa are tossed by four shrine maidens and other shrine staffs at two events, one beginning at midnight and the other at 12:30 a.m.　　

Though a light rain fell at times, an enormous crowd gathered around the worship hall at midnight to get Chikuwa. I saw some children get several.

After “chikuwa toss”, a New Year's koto performance began on the adjacent Noh stage.