Lucky Star Shrine Attracts 470,000 During New Year's

Washinomiya Shrine, the Tokyo area's oldest shrine and a real-life backdrop for the Lucky Star anime series, attracted 470,000 over the first three days of the new year. This is the first time in five years that the New Year's attendance did not increase from the previous year.

Otaku have been flocking to this shrine since the 2007 anime featured Kagami and Tsukasa Hiiragi — twin sister characters who supposedly work at the shrine as miko (shrine maidens). 90,000 attended in 2007, 300,000 in 2008, 420,000 in 2009, 450,000 in 2010, and 470,00 in 2011.