Temples aim to attract youngsters with disco balls, planetarium shows

Adapting with the times.

Transforming temples in "social hubs", when social hubs are also going to disappear.

putting on 1970s and 80s disco music and planetarium shows

Are young people interested in the trends of 40 years ago? I think they are more likely to attract people in their 50’s and 60’s with that stuff. I’ve often said that Japan is a generation behind the rest of the world and this confirms it. Karen Carpenter is dead you know.

If there isn’t a rule then how are Japanese meant to act......?

I think it is interesting to see how this hangs with the idea, pushed by Japanese themselves but also documentary makers and the lets-go-to-temples tourism industry, that Japanese people are "deeply spiritual". Places of worship turning to other activities, yoga classes will be more common than discos and planetariums, to get punters in. My own impression is Japanese pick and choose between religions as they see fit, and things like hatsumode are more symbolic of a Japanese belief in upholding traditions, including non-religious ones, rather than actual spirituality. Many blessing plaques at shrines make distinctly material requests like "please let me pass the college entrance exam". They are not messages for "world peace" or disadvantaged people, wherever they may be.

Shinji Tsubaki, a former Kyoto prefectural police officer who became the temple's head priest 20 years ago

He wouldn't happen to be the previous head priest's son or nephew, by any chance?

$152000 for 1000 people in 7 years.

"No admission". How many people have actually ever thought to walk right up to the altar in that temple, probably none.

Then you might be surprised at what I've seen tourists do here in Kyoto. If you get a lot of visitors, signs are easier than constantly having to watch a place and tell people off.

Ideally, Jo would like people who visit the temple to feel comfortable returning to discuss their personal problems, he said.

Japanese communities could use more neutral spaces (where you can talk face-to-face but the other person isn't connected to your friends or family so they can't spread your vulnerability as gossip) like this so I hope more temples can achieve this. Too many people distrust organized religion though and I think will be afraid of being pressured to "convert" or become an active member of something.

Looks kind of ...

It is damaging traditional culture with garbage, most of these family owned shrines have large sums of money coming from the government for religious monuments, so they are sitting on a cashcow

they should consider offering free food or mario kart tournaments instead