The Haunted Shrine Visit
Ren English Readers · Level A2
Hana and Sora stood on the street corner. Hana looked at her watch.
"It's three o'clock. Where is Momo? She's late."
"What are we doing today, Hana?" Sora asked.
"Momo is bringing her new friend, Ren. He just moved here from England. We are going to show him the local shrine."
"What? That shrine is haunted." Sora looked up the street. He started to bite his fingernails. "People have disappeared from there."
"It's not that dangerous. Ren is new to the country, and she wants to show him the best place." Hana pointed. "There they are."
Momo was walking next to a young boy. He had red hair.
"Wow. Ren is cute," said Hana.
Sora crossed his arms.
"Hi, Hana. Sorry, we're late. Ren wanted to watch the trains," Momo said. She had a red ribbon in her long, black hair.
Ren nodded. "Sorry. The Aoinoshi Limited Express was cool. I've never seen a purple train before."
"Nice to meet you, Ren. I'm Hana. This is my friend, Sora. He's a little shy."
Sora hid behind Hana.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ren. My father just transferred here from England. Thank you for showing me around this city."
"No problem. Come on. Let's go to the shrine before sunset," said Hana.
"Why before sunset?" asked Ren. He scratched his head.
"That's when the ghost comes out," said Sora in a quiet voice. "Why do you want to go there?"
"Ghosts?" Ren said in a loud voice. "There are ghosts here?"
Hana laughed. "That's an old legend. My grandfather said a samurai died here many years ago, and his spirit takes children who don't clean up their rooms."
"That's cool," said Ren. "I want to meet a ghost."
"No, you don't." Sora hugged himself. "There are many strange animals there that take people."
Momo hugged the smaller boy. "Don't worry, Sora. I won't let a ghost get you."
"Thank you, Momo."
"Have you been there before?" asked Ren.
"Yes. Many times, and nothing bad has ever happened," said Hana.
"What do you do at a shrine?"
"You pray for good luck on a test, or for a safe vacation. I'll show you when we get there," said Hana.
"Sounds good," said Ren.
The four children walked to the shrine. Momo and Sora walked in front of Hana and Ren. Hana pointed out many old houses. Some were empty. There was a convenience store to the right, and the street was new. Momo ran to the light and crossed the street.
"Wait up, Momo," Sora said.
"Sorry." Momo stood on the corner and waited.
"That convenience store has great fried chicken," said Hana. They waited for the light to change.
"Really. I want to try it," said Ren.
"When we come back. The shrine is near here."
They crossed the street, turned the corner and reached the bottom of the hill.
"The shrine is at the top of the stairs," said Hana. "There are two hundred and fifty-two steps to the top."
"Why are there so many steps?" Ren asked.
"To make you work hard to reach the top," said Hana.
Momo ran ahead of the other three children. Sora walked behind, looked at the forest and bit his fingernail.
"Stop running, Momo," Hana said in a loud voice. "You have to go up slowly."
"Sorry," Momo said. She slowed down.
"There are many trees here. It's more comfortable than the town and quieter," said Ren.
"Temples and shrines are always quiet," said Hana. "You shouldn't run or make loud noises in them."
"Why?"
"The kami living here don't like them, and it's not respectful," she said.
"What is a kami?" asked Ren.
"A god. They live all over Japan," said Hana.
"Wow. What are those things?" Ren pointed to the lanterns. "How many are there?"
"They are called Ishi-doro, or stone lanterns. They help spirits find their way to the shrine," Hana said. "I don't know how many there are."
"Spirits? You mean ghosts?" asked Ren. "Where can I meet one?"
"You don't want to meet a ghost," said Sora. "It will steal your breath." He crossed his arms. "This place is scary."
"I like it," said Ren. He stepped beside Sora and put his arm around the smaller boy. "Come on. You can show me some good places."
Sora nodded.
At the top of the stairs was a giant orange gate. A big square building was to the right of the gate. The shrine was at the end of a long white stone path. A man in a white uniform was standing next to the square building, sweeping the gravel with a long wooden broom. Ren whistled.
"Don't do that! You'll call the ghosts," said Sora.
"Sorry. It's very big. What's that orange thing called?" asked Ren.
"It's called a torii, or gate. You pass through it to enter the shrine." Hana looked around. "Where is Momo?"
"She's probably inside," said Ren. "Let's go."
Ren went to the middle of the gate and stepped inside.
"Wait!" Hana grabbed Ren's arm. "You don't go in like that."
"What do you mean?"
"First, you have to clap your hands and bow at the entrance. Then you walk to the side, next to the pillar," Hana said.
"Really? How come?"
"The center path is for the kami."
Ren, Hana and Sora clapped their hands and bowed. They went inside.
"What do we do now?" asked Ren.
"We wash our hands at the fountain." Hana pointed to the right. There was a small fountain with running water.
Ren went over and stuck his hands in the water. "Is there any soap?"
Hana and Sora giggled. "No, you don't do it like that. Let me show you." Hana took a scoop and put it in the water. "First, you wash your right hand, then your left hand. Finally, you spill the water over the scoop, washing it."
Sora and Ren did the same thing. Sora took a cloth from his pocket and dried off his hands. Ren wiped his hands on his pants.
"Do you have a handkerchief?" asked Sora.
"No. We never carry those back in England."
"Here. You can use mine." Sora held out his cloth.
"Thank you," said Ren. He dried off his hands and handed the cloth back to Sora.
Hana pointed to the big building. "We have to go there to pray."
Ren and Sora followed Hana. At the front was a big box with a long rope with a bell at the top. Hana took a coin from her pocket, dropped it into the box and rang the bell.
"Why did you do that?" asked Ren.
"You have to make an offering to the spirits. A small coin is enough. Then you bow two times, clap two times, make a wish, and then ring the bell again. Do you have a coin?" Hana asked.
Ren stuck his hand in his pocket and took out a ten-yen coin. "Is this enough?"
Hana nodded. "Yes. Now drop it in the box."
He leaned over and flipped the coin into the box. After, he looked inside. "Where does it go?"
"Somebody will pick it up later, but you shouldn't look inside," said Hana. "It isn't polite."
"Sorry." Ren took the rope and shook the bell. It rang loudly. He bowed and clapped his hands. "I want to make a lot of good friends," he said.
Hana smiled. "Me too, but you shouldn't say your wish out loud."
"Okay." Ren rang the bell again and stepped back.
Sora looked around. "Where is Momo?"
"I don't know." Hana raised her voice. "Momo. Where are you?"
Nobody answered.
"Maybe the ghost got her," said Sora. "This place is dangerous."
"Let's ask the Miko in the shrine office over there." Hana pointed to the woman sitting inside the building.
They went to the shrine office, and Hana knocked on the window. There was a large rack of wooden boards with writing on them next to the office window.
"Yes. How can I help you?" the Miko asked.
"Did you see a young girl with a red ribbon in her long black hair come through here?" Hana asked.
The Miko shook her head. "Sorry, I didn't. But the shrine is very big. Maybe she is around here."
"Thank you."
Sora bit his fingernails again.
"I told you to stop that." Hana crossed her arms.
"Sorry. I was right. The ghost got her," Sora said.
"Let's look around. She is probably around here somewhere."
They went to the man in a white uniform. "Excuse me, did you see a young girl around here? She has a red ribbon in her hair."
The man stopped sweeping and pointed to the back of the shrine. "Yes. I saw her go that way. She should be careful."
"Because the ghost will get her?" asked Sora. Ren stood next to Sora and put his hand on his shoulder.
"If there is a ghost, I'll fight it off." He put his fist to his chest.
The man smiled. "There isn't a ghost here, but that legend is very popular. In the old stories, many people say he protects the shrine. Your friend was running around and could break something important. You shouldn't run here."
Hana's face turned red. "Sorry. We'll tell her that."
"Thank you." He started sweeping again.
"Why are you angry?" Ren asked Hana.
"Momo is always running around. She's going to get in trouble."
"Don't worry. This place is safe," said Ren.
"No, it's not," said Sora. He hugged himself.
The three children went to the back of the shrine and found Momo looking at a small statue of a rabbit.
"There you are, Momo," Hana said. "We were looking everywhere for you!"
"Sorry. This is my first time at this shrine, and I got too excited. I found a cool statue. What do you think?" Momo pointed to the rabbit. "It's warm."
"You shouldn't run off like that," Sora said. "What if the ghost got you?"
"There's no ghost around here. He only comes out after sunset." Momo reached over and touched the rabbit's head.
"What are you doing?" asked Sora.
"My Dad told me about this statue. This is a good-luck rabbit," said Momo. "If you rub its head and make a wish, you'll have good luck for the next few days. I have a table tennis tournament next week. I need good luck."
The other two rubbed the rabbit's head.
"Do you want to do it, Sora?" asked Momo.
"No thank you," said Sora. He backed away.
"I hope I get good luck too," said Ren.
"Why do you want good luck?" asked Sora.
"I want to join the football club. There are tryouts next week," Ren said.
"Football?" said Sora.
"Oops. You call it soccer. It's called football in England."
Sora nodded.
A wind blew around the statue, scattering the leaves on the ground. Hana jumped. "What was that?" She looked behind her.
"What happened?" Momo asked.
"I felt something move down my back," said Hana.
"The ghost!" Sora said.
"Maybe a bug," said Ren.
"Can you take a look?" Hana turned around.
"There is a big spider on your back," he said.
Hana screamed and jumped in the air. "Get it off! Get it off!"
Ren grabbed Hana and brushed the spider off. It ran away on the ground. Hana shook.
"Is it gone?" she asked.
"Yes, it's gone. Do you hate spiders?" asked Ren.
"Yes. They are icky."
Momo and Sora were giggling. "I never knew you were scared of spiders," said Sora.
"Yes!" Hana puffed out her cheeks. "Don't tease me!"
"It's okay," said Ren. "It was a big spider. It scared me too."
"But you knocked it off her back," said Sora.
"That was okay. If I see a snake, I might scream."
"Really?" Sora stood up straighter.
"Come on. My Mom gave me some money. Let\'s go write an ema," said Hana.
"What's that?" asked Ren.
"It's a prayer board. People write their wishes on it."
They went back to the shrine office. The Miko gave them four wooden prayer boards. Each board had a picture of a horse on the back. Hana gave the woman two thousand yen. They went over to the table next to the office and used a black marker to write on the boards.
"What do we write?" asked Ren.
"Anything you want," said Hana. "The best thing to write would be the prayer you said earlier."
Ren wrote, "I want to make many friends." He looked at the others. "What did you write, Sora?"
Sora showed his board. "I want to be stronger."
Hana held her board up. "I want to get a good score on my entrance test."
Momo hid her board.
"Come on. Show us," said Hana.
"It's embarrassing."
"Don't worry," said Sora. "Nobody will laugh. I'll protect you."
"You're already a little stronger, Sora." Momo laughed and showed her board. "I want to become an idol."
Hana and Ren smiled, but they gave her a thumbs-up. "Good luck, Momo."
"That's great. I didn't know that, Momo," said Sora.
"I'm taking dance lessons every week. I'm not very good yet, but they are a lot of fun. I'm going to start singing lessons next month," said Momo.
Momo went over the rack of ema and tied it to the rest. The other three followed her. A breeze blew the ema, rattling them. Momo's ema dropped to the ground and bounced.
"The ghost is angry you were running," said Sora.
"Stop it, Sora," said Momo. "There aren't any ghosts here." She tied her ema to the rack. The other three joined her.
"That was cool," said Ren. "I like this shrine. It is beautiful."
"Let's go get some fried chicken," said Hana.
They went back to the entrance, turned and bowed to the shrine. At the top of the stairs, Sora lost his balance and started to fall. Ren reached for him, but a strong wind blew him back.
"Are you okay, Sora?" Ren asked. "You almost fell."
"I guess so. The wind saved me. Maybe the ghost is nice."
"Come on. Let's get some fried chicken," said Hana.
They walked to the convenience store. The doors opened, and a teenager stood behind the counter. "Welcome to our store!"
"Why did he say that?" Ren asked.
"They always say that when you enter the store," said Hana.
They bought four packs of fried chicken pieces and went outside. "What is this called?" asked Ren.
"Karaage. It's a very popular snack," said Sora.
Ren used a toothpick and stuck it into the fried chicken. "This is delicious. I could eat this every day."
"Me too," said Hana.
"I could too," said Momo.
"So could I," said Sora.
"How was your first visit to a shrine, Ren?" asked Hana
"Really fun. I hope we can do more fun things together. I want to learn all about Japanese culture. Next time, let's go someplace with a real ghost," said Ren.
"What do you mean?" asked Momo.
"That shrine only had a Miko and a man sweeping the rocks," said Ren.
Momo scratched her head. "No man was sweeping the rocks when I went in there."
Hana stopped eating her fried chicken. "He told us where to find you."
"I saw him too," said Ren.
"Me too," said Sora.
"I didn't." Momo held up her fingers. "There was me, Sora, Hana, Ren and the Miko. Nobody else."
A cold wind blew past the four children.
Sora grabbed Momo's arm. "I knew there was a ghost. That rabbit was dangerous too."
"What do you mean?" asked Momo.
"It was hot. Statues aren't hot," said Sora.
Ren ate the rest of his fried chicken and stood up. "What time does the shrine close?"
"At five o'clock. Why? Where are you going?" asked Hana.
"I wanted to meet a ghost. Maybe he's still there. Do you want to come with me?"
Sora shook his head and held on to Momo. "We'll stay here," Momo said.
Hana stood up. "I'll go with you."
Ren and Hana waved goodbye to the other two and went back to the shrine. A bell rang as they got closer.