Digital Omikuji at Shrines: A New Era of Worship with QR Codes

When drawing omikuji at a shrine, you shake a wooden cylinder and pull out a numbered stick. This traditional scene is gradually beginning to change. Omikuji that display results by scanning a QR code with your smartphone, omikuji that reveal a number simply by tapping an NFC tag, and even systems for making cashless offerings—digitalization at shrines accelerated rapidly, triggered by the contactless needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article provides a detailed look at QR code omikuji mechanisms and case studies, digital goshuin (shrine stamps), cashless offerings, and the latest developments in shrine DX (Digital Transformation). Let’s explore how tradition and technology coexist.

QR Code Omikuji: A New Worship Experience Displaying Results on Your Smartphone

QR code omikuji is a system where visitors scan a QR code installed on shrine grounds with their smartphone to display their omikuji result on screen. Traditional omikuji involved shaking a wooden cylinder, pulling out a numbered stick, and receiving the corresponding paper fortune. QR code omikuji digitizes this “drawing a number” process.

However, there are several patterns of QR code omikuji. Some display results entirely on the smartphone, while others have visitors confirm a number on their phone and then receive a paper omikuji at the shrine office. In the latter case, there’s no need to directly touch the omikuji cylinder, providing peace of mind regarding hygiene. (While “digital omikuji” might conjure images of everything being completed on a smartphone, many shrines actually retain the step of handing out paper omikuji. This likely reflects respect for worshippers’ desire to receive a message from the gods on “paper.”)

How QR Code Omikuji Works

Step	Details
Scan the QR code with your smartphone	Use your camera to scan the QR code installed on the grounds, accessing a dedicated page
Perform the omikuji drawing action	Tap a button on screen or shake your phone to determine your number
Check your result	The result appears on your smartphone screen, or tell your number at the shrine office to receive a paper omikuji
Pay the offering	Pay the initial offering fee in cash or via cashless payment

Most shrines set the offering for QR code omikuji at the same amount as regular omikuji (around 100 to 300 yen). Being digital doesn’t make it particularly expensive.

Kifune Shrine’s QR Code Omikuji Is Popular with Foreign Visitors Thanks to Multilingual Support

Kifune Shrine in Kyoto is known as a pioneer of QR code omikuji. The shrine’s famous “water fortune” (mizu-ura mikuji) involves floating a blank omikuji paper on the sacred water within the grounds, causing characters to emerge—and a QR code is printed on the paper. Scanning it with a smartphone displays the omikuji content in five languages: Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Korean (Source: QR Translator).

Kifune Shrine introduced this system in 2016. It adopted the “QR Translator” multilingual solution provided by PIJIN, which automatically detects the device’s language settings and displays the corresponding language page. It also features text-to-speech functionality, ensuring that foreign worshippers who cannot read kanji can still understand the content.

Kifune Shrine has installed free Wi-Fi called “powerspot” on its grounds, providing an environment where visitors from overseas can use QR codes without worrying about data connectivity. Multilingual omikuji doesn’t just save “translation effort”—it serves as a bridge for foreign worshippers to deeply understand shrine culture. The coexistence of the mystical water fortune experience with the convenience of understanding content on a smartphone is remarkable. (The fact that an analog performance of floating paper in water to reveal characters coexists with QR code digital technology on the same piece of paper—this may be the ideal form of “fusion between tradition and digital.”)

Ikuta Shrine Introduced Contactless Omikuji During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ikuta Shrine in Kobe introduced an “NFC/QR Code Omikuji” combining NFC (Near Field Communication) and QR codes in 2020. The purpose was to create a “safe and secure worship environment” during the New Year’s visit period amid the COVID-19 pandemic, using a contactless system that allows visitors to obtain their number without directly touching the omikuji cylinder (Source: Ikuta Shrine).

How Ikuta Shrine’s Contactless Omikuji Works

1. Hold your smartphone near the NFC tag installed on the grounds, or scan the QR code
2. A dedicated site opens, where you perform the omikuji drawing action on screen
3. Tell the displayed number at the shrine office
4. Receive a paper omikuji in exchange for the offering fee

What’s noteworthy about Ikuta Shrine’s method is that paper omikuji are ultimately handed out in person. Only the “drawing a number” process is digitized—the omikuji itself remains traditional paper. This was a practical decision to reduce infection risk from “many worshippers touching the omikuji cylinder” while maintaining the experience of receiving a paper omikuji.

During the New Year period, hundreds or thousands of hands touch the omikuji cylinder. Before the pandemic, no one thought twice about this contact, but from 2020 onward it became a major concern. Ikuta Shrine’s initiative is a prime example of a shrine quickly adapting to changing times. (While some shrines distributed vinyl gloves as a countermeasure, Ikuta Shrine’s approach using NFC and QR codes is more natural and less disruptive to the worship experience.)

The COVID-19 Pandemic Rapidly Accelerated Shrine Digitalization

Shrine digitalization had been progressing gradually before 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic became the decisive turning point. As demand for contactless solutions grew, even shrines that had been strongly committed to “traditional methods” were forced to seriously consider adopting digital technology.

Challenges Shrines Faced During COVID-19 and Their Responses

Challenge	Traditional Response	Digital Response
Contact with omikuji cylinders	Distributing vinyl gloves, installing hand sanitizer	Obtaining numbers via QR code/NFC
Crowding at shrine offices	Guiding worshippers to queue	Obtaining numbers on smartphones in advance, reducing wait times
Contact at temizu (purification water) basins	Removing ladles, switching to running water	Installing automatic faucets
Cash handling for offerings	Installing hand sanitizer	Introducing cashless payment
Crowding during hatsumode (New Year visits)	Encouraging staggered visits	Online worship, saisaki-mode (early visits starting in December)

During the 2021 New Year period in particular, many shrines called for “staggered worship.” According to Nikkei reporting, the number of shrines recommending “visiting from December” increased, giving rise to a new worship style called “saisaki-mode” (early New Year visits) (Source: Nikkei). Amid these developments, digital measures like QR code omikuji and cashless offerings became more readily accepted than before.

The pandemic was a major trial for shrines, but it also served as a catalyst for digitalization. Like a landscape that looks different after a storm passes, the COVID-19 storm gave shrines an opportunity to discern what should change and what should remain unchanged.

Cashless Offerings Are Spreading Through PayPay and J-Coin Pay

Alongside omikuji digitalization, cashless offerings are also advancing. In December 2024, PayPay officially began supporting offerings, making it available at seven temples and shrines nationwide including Zojoji Temple in Tokyo’s Minato Ward (Source: Payment Navi).

Examples of Cashless Offering Implementation

Shrine/Temple	Location	Supported Payment	Features
Atago Shrine	Minato, Tokyo	Rakuten Edy, Rakuten Pay	Introduced during hatsumode period since 2014. Prompted by a connection with Rakuten’s founder
Kanda Myojin	Chiyoda, Tokyo	J-Coin Pay	Introduced Mizuho Bank’s QR code payment for New Year 2021
Zojoji Temple	Minato, Tokyo	PayPay	Officially supported from December 2024. QR code placed beside the main hall’s offering box
Nagoya Betsuin (Higashi Betsuin)	Nagoya, Aichi	PayPay	One of the early adopters of PayPay offerings

Behind the spread of cashless offerings is the trend of “moving away from cash,” particularly among younger generations. About 80 temples and shrines nationwide have introduced digital offerings, and the practical reason of preventing offering theft is also significant. A representative from Zojoji Temple stated, “As long as you put your heart into it, [the payment method] doesn’t matter” (Source: Business Insider Japan).

For PayPay offerings, visitors scan a QR code placed near the offering box with the app, enter an amount, and tap the “Send your heartfelt offering” button. Only PayPay Money (verified balance) can be used, and no points are awarded. (The design choice not to award points was likely made to preserve the “heartfelt” nature of offerings. Earning points from offerings would feel distinctly wrong.)

Digital Goshuin and NFTs Are Creating New Forms of Worship Records

The wave of digitalization is reaching not only omikuji and offerings but also the world of goshuin (shrine stamps). The symbol of this is “NFT goshuin.” NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are a technology that provides “one-of-a-kind certification” to digital data, and attempts to apply this to goshuin have begun.

Take Shrine’s NFT Goshuin Was Japan’s First Initiative

Take Shrine in Meiwa Town, Mie Prefecture, began distributing Japan’s first shrine-based NFT goshuin, the “Take Shrine Digital Goshuin,” in August 2022. Conducted as a joint project with HAKUHODO Blockchain Initiative and CryptoGames Inc., it issues digital art featuring Take Shrine’s hanachozu (floral water basin) as NFTs (Source: PR TIMES).

The process involves applying at Take Shrine’s shrine office, scanning a QR code with a smartphone, and receiving the NFT goshuin from a dedicated page. Since it’s recorded on the blockchain, it remains semi-permanently as a digital proof that “I visited this shrine.”

If paper goshuin books “physically preserve the footprints of worship,” NFT goshuin “carve the footprints of worship into digital space.” The closest analogy might be a digitized stamp rally book. However, NFT goshuin are still largely experimental and cannot be said to have spread nationwide. (The joy of flipping through a paper goshuin book and the charm of brush-written characters are difficult to replicate digitally. NFT goshuin won’t “replace” paper goshuin. They’ll naturally coexist as “another option.”)

There Are Clear Differences Between Digital and Paper Omikuji

As shrine digitalization progresses, the question arises: “Which is better—digital omikuji or paper omikuji?” The conclusion is that each has clear advantages and disadvantages, and the right choice isn’t about which is superior but which suits you better.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Digital Omikuji

Category	Advantage	Disadvantage
Hygiene	Contactless—no need to touch cylinders or paper	Looking at a smartphone screen may detract from the worship atmosphere
Multilingual support	Can display in foreign languages, helpful for international visitors	May diminish the unique flavor of Japanese-language omikuji
Preservation	Easily saved as a screenshot	Lacks the tangible feeling of holding paper
Crowd reduction	Reduces time waiting at shrine offices	Can be a barrier for those unfamiliar with smartphones
Environment	Reduces paper usage	Depends on phone battery and network connectivity

The Experiential Value of Paper Omikuji Remains Unchanged

While digital omikuji are undeniably convenient, paper omikuji have their own unique value as an “experience.” The sound of shaking a wooden cylinder, the tension of drawing a numbered stick, the excitement of unfolding the paper to see your result—these sensory experiences cannot be replicated by simply tapping a smartphone screen.

Omikuji are fundamentally about receiving a message from the gods or Buddha. The texture of the paper, the brush-written characters, the resonance of the waka poetry—these “analog qualities” lend weight to the message. Even as digital technology advances, this sensory value won’t fade. (It’s similar to the relationship between letters and emails. Emails are convenient, but the joy of receiving a handwritten letter is exceptional. Omikuji, too, gain a sense of “specialness” by being received on paper.)

The Association of Shinto Shrines Takes a Cautious Stance on Online Worship

As shrine digitalization progresses, the Association of Shinto Shrines (Jinja Honcho, the religious organization encompassing approximately 80,000 shrines nationwide) has shown caution toward online worship. The Association maintains that “the principle of worship is to actually visit in person” and has raised questions about completing everything online (Source: J-CAST News).

On the other hand, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, there were moves to accept online worship to avoid crowding. This can be seen as a flexible response between “principle” and “reality.”

How to Balance Digitalization with the “Essence of Worship”

Shrine digitalization broadly follows two approaches:

• Digitalization that “supports” the worship experience (QR code omikuji, cashless offerings, multilingual guidance, etc.)
• Digitalization that “replaces” worship itself (online worship, virtual shrines, etc.)

The former assumes that worshippers actually visit the shrine in person and makes the experience more convenient. The latter aims to complete worship without going to a shrine at all. The Association of Shinto Shrines is mainly cautious about the latter approach, while the former type of digitalization is being actively adopted by many shrines.

The key distinction isn’t “I don’t need to visit the shrine because I can draw omikuji with a QR code” but rather “When I visit the shrine, the QR code makes my experience more comfortable.” This difference is crucial. Digital technology is merely a “tool” to enrich the worship experience—it is not a replacement for the essence of worship.

Tradition and Digital Are Not Opposed but Coexist

Some may feel that “digital technology doesn’t suit shrines.” Passing through the torii gate, walking on gravel, purifying yourself with temizu—a smartphone screen seems out of place in that solemn space. However, looking back through history, shrines have always flexibly embraced the changes of each era.

Omikuji themselves have changed form with the times. The “Ganzan Daishi Hyakusen” attributed to Ganzan Daishi Ryogen is considered the prototype, but what was originally written in Chinese poetry eventually became waka poetry, and in modern times, plain Japanese. Even as the “format” of omikuji changed with the times, the “essence” of “receiving a message from the gods or Buddha” has not changed.

QR code omikuji are an extension of this. The display medium has simply changed from paper to screen—the essence of worshippers checking their fortune and using it as guidance for daily life remains the same. Tradition and digital are not “opposed”—they “coexist” by preserving the essence of tradition while serving it in a new digital vessel.

(When electricity became widespread, shrine lanterns changed from candles to light bulbs. When automobiles became common, shrine approaches were maintained for cars instead of horse-drawn carriages. Digitalization is simply another such natural change of the times. People a hundred years from now may look back and say, “Apparently they used to draw omikuji with smartphones.”)

Noteworthy Directions for Future Shrine Digitalization

From 2025 onward, shrine digitalization is expected to expand in even more diverse directions. Here are some noteworthy trends at this point.

Personalized Omikuji Using AI

Traditional omikuji work by randomly selecting one from dozens of prepared patterns. However, with AI technology, it’s technically possible to generate more personalized messages based on the worshipper’s situation and the time of year. Some online omikuji services have already begun such initiatives.

Strengthening Inbound Tourism Support

As Kifune Shrine’s example shows, multilingual QR code omikuji are extremely welcome for international visitors. According to Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) statistics, the number of international visitors to Japan is trending upward, and the importance of multilingual support will only increase. QR codes will likely be used more widely not just for omikuji but also for explaining worship etiquette and shrine grounds.

Utilizing Worship Data and Crowd Prediction

Worship data accumulated through digitalization can be used for crowd prediction and operational improvement. Information such as which time periods see the most worshippers and which types of omikuji are popular becomes valuable data for creating a better worship environment.

• More shrines are publishing real-time crowding information on websites and apps
• Analyzing popular time periods from QR code omikuji usage data to optimize staff placement
• Using cashless payment data to understand worshipper trends

However, utilizing worship data requires caution. Shrines are not “commercial facilities” but “places of faith.” The perspective of using data analysis not just for efficiency but to create an environment where worshippers can more comfortably connect with the gods is essential.

In Closing

Shrine digitalization is steadily advancing across multiple fronts, including QR code omikuji, cashless offerings, and NFT goshuin. The contactless needs that spread rapidly due to the pandemic were not a passing trend but added new options to how shrines operate. What matters is that even as digitalization progresses, the essence of worship—”visiting a shrine and connecting with the gods and Buddha”—remains unchanged. QR codes, NFC, and PayPay are merely tools to enrich the worship experience. The texture of paper omikuji, the serene air of shrine grounds, the sound of bells—their value cannot be replaced by digital technology. Tradition and digital will complement each other as shrine culture is passed on to the next era.

At Omikuji Sando, you can draw your own personalized fortune derived from your date of birth, with 12 levels of results, for free every day. Even on days when you can’t visit a shrine, you can enjoy an authentic omikuji experience from home. Try checking today’s fortune at Omikuji Sando, which combines digital convenience with authentic Japanese-style presentation.