Hakuba Soran Shinji (White Horse Viewing Rite) at Kamigamo Shrine

At Kamigamo Shrine (Kamowakeikazuchi Shrine) in Kita-ku, Kyoto, the "Hakuba Soran Shinji" (White Horse Viewing Rite) is held every January 7. It is the ritualized form of the imperial court's "Aouma no Sechie" ceremony, based on the belief that seeing a white horse at the start of the year wards off misfortune for the year. Nanakusa rice porridge is offered before the gods, and the sacred horse "Koyama-go" is led out and presented to them. The horse is also led out again at noon and 1, 2, and 3 pm that day. Free to view. Kamigamo Shrine, which enshrines the deity Kamowakeikazuchi-no-Okami, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.