You’re standing in the freezing dark. It’s 3:00 AM, the air in Kyoto or Tokyo is biting, and you’re about to walk the same stretch of gravel for the fiftieth time tonight. Your feet hurt. Honestly, you’re wondering why you didn't just stay in bed. But this is the reality of the hyakudo mairi. When people decide to attempt a hundred shrine visits, they aren’t looking for a casual tourist photo or a quick blessing. They’re looking for a breakthrough.
It’s a grueling, repetitive, and deeply personal ritual. It basically involves walking from the shrine entrance or a designated "stepping stone" (hyakudo-ishi) to the main altar and back, one hundred times in a row. Sometimes it’s done over a hundred days, but the most intense version—the one that really tests your sanity—happens all at once.
The obsession with 100
Why a hundred? In Japanese numerology, 100 represents a completion of a cycle, a fullness that suggests you’ve given everything you have. You aren't just asking for a favor; you're proving you want it. This isn't like dropping a 5-yen coin in a box and moving on.
If you’ve ever felt like your life was hitting a wall, you might understand the desperation that drives this. Historically, people would attempt a hundred shrine visits when a family member was dying or when a warrior was heading into a hopeless battle. It was the "hail Mary" of the Edo period. Today, the stakes have shifted. People do it to pass exams, to cure "modern" illnesses like chronic burnout, or to find a way out of a dead-end career.
The ritual is physically draining. If the distance between the stone and the altar is 20 meters, you’re walking four kilometers in total, but it’s the stopping, bowing, and praying at every single turn that wears you down. Your knees start to ache after lap thirty. By lap seventy, your mind starts to wander or, weirder yet, it goes completely silent.
How the ritual actually works on the ground
You don't just show up and start walking. Well, you can, but there’s a specific etiquette if you want to do it "right." Most shrines have a hyakudo-ishi (hundred-times stone) near the entrance. This is your anchor.
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- The Counting Strings: Most people use koyori (twisted paper strings) or small bamboo sticks to keep track. You hold a bundle of a hundred. Every time you finish a lap, you drop one or move it to a different pocket. Trust me, you will lose count without them. Your brain turns to mush around lap sixty.
- The Barefoot Element: Traditionally, to show true sincerity, you’re supposed to do this barefoot. In the summer, the stone is scorching. In the winter, it feels like walking on glass. Most modern shrines don't require this anymore, but the "purists" still swear by it.
- The Silence: You aren't supposed to talk. You aren't supposed to look at your phone. It’s just you, the gravel, and whatever deity is supposedly listening.
What most people get wrong about Shinto "rules"
People think Shinto is this rigid, frozen-in-time religion. It's not. It’s actually pretty vibey. While there are "correct" ways to attempt a hundred shrine visits, the priests will usually tell you that the kokoro (heart/intent) matters more than whether you bowed at a 30-degree or 45-degree angle.
But don't be disrespectful. Don't do it during a major festival when you're blocking the path of thousands of tourists. That's just being a jerk. The best time is usually late at night or very early morning. There's something hauntingly beautiful about a shrine at 4:00 AM when the only sound is your feet hitting the ground.
The psychological shift of the 50th lap
Around the halfway mark, something strange happens. It’s a phenomenon athletes call "the zone," but with a spiritual twist. The repetitive motion acts as a form of moving meditation. The first twenty laps are full of ego—you’re thinking about your wish, your problems, your sore big toe.
By the time you reach the middle of your attempt a hundred shrine visits, the "wish" starts to feel less important than the "doing." You stop begging and start just... being. It’s a psychological endurance test. Research into repetitive ritual behavior, like the studies conducted by anthropologists at the University of Connecticut, suggests that these high-cost rituals actually reduce anxiety by giving the brain a sense of control over an uncontrollable environment.
If you're doing this because you're stressed about a job hunt, the ritual doesn't magically put a contract in your hand. What it does do is recalibrate your brain. It proves to you that you have the discipline to finish something incredibly tedious and physically taxing.
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Finding the right spot: It's not just Fushimi Inari
Everyone goes to Fushimi Inari in Kyoto because of the red gates. Honestly? It's too crowded for a serious hyakudo mairi. You’ll get bumped into by a TikToker every five seconds.
If you’re serious about a hundred-visit attempt, look for local "Ujigami" shrines—the ones tucked away in residential neighborhoods. In Osaka, the Ishikiri Tsurugiya Shrine is famous for this. You will see people there every single day, circling the main hall, clutching their counting strings. It’s a "living" shrine, not a museum. The energy there is heavy. It feels real.
In Tokyo, some people head to the Suitengu Shrine, especially if the prayer is related to safe childbirth or conception. But the beauty of Shinto is that the kami (spirits) are everywhere. You don't need a famous mountain. You just need a stone and the will to keep walking.
The dark side: When ritual becomes obsession
We have to talk about the "curse" aspect. In Japanese folklore, there’s a dark version of this called Ushi no Koku Mairi (Shrine Visit at the Hour of the Ox). This is where someone visits a shrine at 2:00 AM to nail a straw doll to a tree to curse an enemy.
Don't do that.
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Aside from the fact that it's super creepy, it's not what the hyakudo mairi is about. The hundred-visit ritual is about self-refining, not destruction. If you go into an attempt a hundred shrine visits with a heart full of spite, you’re basically just taking a very long, very angry walk. It won't bring you peace.
Actionable steps for your first attempt
If you’re actually going to do this, don't just wing it. It's a physical undertaking.
- Prep your feet: If you aren't going barefoot, wear broken-in shoes. Blisters are the number one reason people quit at lap forty.
- Bring physical counters: Don't try to use a counter app on your phone. It ruins the immersion. Use coins, matches, or actual koyori strings.
- Check the weather: Getting rained on during lap ten is fine. Getting rained on during lap ninety is a recipe for hypothermia.
- Hydrate: You’re walking several miles while constantly bowing. You will get dizzy if you haven't eaten or drank anything.
- Respect the locals: If a priest or a local worshipper looks at you funny, just offer a polite bow and keep going. Most will respect the effort once they realize what you’re doing.
The most important thing to remember is that you can’t "fail" a hundred-visit attempt unless you give up. Even if you lose count and do 105 laps, or if you accidentally trip, the effort is what’s recorded.
Once you finish, don't just rush off to get Starbucks. Sit down. Breathe. Feel the pulse in your feet. There’s a specific kind of clarity that only comes after you’ve pushed your body through a hundred repetitions of a single, sacred act. Whether the "wish" comes true or not, you walk out of that shrine gate a slightly different person than the one who walked in.
Your next move should be finding a local shrine with a 'hyakudo-ishi' (hundred-visit stone). Check the shrine's official website or local guides to ensure they allow the ritual after hours, and prepare your hundred counting markers—small bamboo sticks or paper ties work best—before you set out for the grounds.