Kanda Myojin has fully embraced the otaku culture of its surrounding neighbourhood. Every August, the shrine hosts an anime-themed festival called Noryo Matsuri. It has many of the same elements a traditional festival at any shrine would have, but with an anime twist! like the traditional bon dancing that is an essential part of the festival is all done to anime music.

There’s also plenty of snacks and other souvenirs to buy, and over 40,000 people usually come to celebrate together. When the Noryo Matsuri had to be cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19, Kanda Myojin couldn’t be stopped; they used the extremely popular Nintendo Switch game Animal Crossing: New Horizons to create a “dream island” that anyone in the world could visit that recreated the entire shrine along with the Noryo Festival! They even included download codes for clothing they recommended your avatar wear to visit.

Below is a full tour of the dream island that Kanda Myojin Shrine posted (that’s right, the shrine not only has a Nintendo Switch it also has Youtube!). An extra benefit of creating this dream island is that both the festival and the shrine are accessible to anyone in the world, and at any time!

You can also check the shrine’s official Japanese website to learn some of the bon dances that are usually done at the Noryo Festival here! <https://www.kandamyoujin.or.jp/atsumori/

Most recently, Kanda Myojin Shrine held a special launch festival for the PlayStation 5. Because there couldn’t be any special in-store events held due to COVID-19 for the launch of the new Japanese system, the shrine hosted an outdoor party instead. They used projection mapping in front of the main gate to display the PlayStation logo, along with the four button symbols and some cool lighting so anyone could stop by and enjoy the launch party. It was also a form of praying for success for the PlayStation 5! As the “console wars” between it and the new Xbox Series X rage on, only time will tell if Kanda Myojin’s support will help the PlayStation 5 emerge victorious. You can check out a short clip from it below!

As we said earlier, Kanda Myojin Shrine is already in a convenient location for otaku as it's just a short walk from the main streets of Akihabara. In Akihabara, there are plenty of first- and second-hand anime shops stuffed to the ceiling with figures, keychains, pins, stationary, plushies, and more. There are also quite a few game centres, a plethora of maid cafes and other themed cafes, cosplay shops, and doujinshi stores. It's easy to spend at least one entire day otaku sight-seeing on the busy main streets. It's nice to take a break and enjoy some peace and quiet at Kanda Myojin Shrine while still appreciating its otaku significance.

Before you leave the shrine, be sure to buy a few souvenirs to remember your experience there. If you want to get something very traditional, check out the omamori (good luck charms), ema (prayer boards), or omikuji (fortunes). Kanda Myojin has two omamori that you can’t find just anywhere - Love Live charms, and even a blessing for success in Information Technology! These all make for really great souvenirs for yourself, or for your friends and family back home. They usually aren’t very expensive, either, so it can give a bit of tradition to your collection of things you buy in Akihabara!

If you do decide to purchase an ema in particular, you can also write your hopes and prayers on it and leave it at the shrine so the gods can read it and maybe even grant your wishes. Don’t worry about the language barrier because it's fine to write in your native tongue. If you’re an artist, you can even draw some anime art on it, which is also totally acceptable! You might even see some that other people have left, so check them out for inspiration.