In the temple for AOL

Michael The Shinto religion in Japan involves many rituals and amulets: If you throw a 5-yen coin into a designated box in the temple and clap your hands, it brings good luck in a requested area. You can also buy lucky or disaster-repelling charms: Illustration 1 shows one that you hang on the car's rearview mirror, which amusingly reads "For Against Disaster" in English. Of course, there are also amulets for passing exams or blessings for children.

Another gimmick involves writing worries on special pieces of paper that completely dissolve and disappear when thrown into water, symbolizing the disappearance of those worries. My biggest concern at the moment is, of course, the low price of AOL stock, and I dutifully paid the 200 yen (1.70 euros) fee, filled out a piece of paper, and let it dissolve in the water. Since then, at least the stock price hasn't fallen any further!

By the way, do you see the flag in illustration 4 that shows a chapel? The mirrored swastika does not indicate a far-right party, but is actually the Buddhist symbol for "temple".