"Start From Ten Yen": How Much Japanese Locals Actually Put in a Shrine Offering Box — 3,545 Comments on a No-1-Yen Notice

What locals said (excerpted from 3545)

• Yeah, I'd never put in a one-yen coin lol

  一円は入れないなぁw

  — @悶絶卵254 likes

• Just write: "For the upkeep of the shrine that serves the gods, please start from ten yen." That would have done it.

  神様のための神社の維持費のために10円からお願いいたします。 で良いんでない。

  — @bikesukioyaji9661648 likes

• Ah, my local shrine had the same notice up 😊 I just went "oh, one-yen coins are a no-go then" and switched to ten yen. Honestly I've never used a one-yen coin as an offering anyway 😅 I do drop them into the donation boxes at convenience stores, though 😅

  あー。近所の神社も書いてた😊 素直に「あ、１円はあかんのかぁ～」ぐらいで、１０円にしたよ てか、お賽銭で１円使ったこない😅 ただ、コンビニとかの募金箱には１円入れてます😅

  — @ちぃちぃ-c8d14 likes

• Five-yen coins are the default, for go-en, "a good connection." But I never offer a 500-yen coin — there's no bigger coin than that, and kouka means both "coin" and "effect," so there's no bigger effect to be had…

  とりあえず5円玉（ご縁）とか。 でも500円玉は入れないなぁ これ以上の硬貨（効果）がないから…

  — @kaoru.asakura31 likes

• Years ago I heard that notes bring more blessing than coins, so I offered 1,000 yen — and had a good year. I've put in 1,000 ever since. One day I want to be the kind of person who can offer 10,000.

  何年か前お賽銭は札の方が御利益が有ると聞いてから千円入れたら良い一年だったのでそれからは千円いれてます。一万円を入れられる人になりたい。

  — @アサエ45 likes

• I used to work at a bank. Offering money is often old or rusted, so a lot of it won't go through the counting machine, and I remember the coin exchange for a mid-sized shrine nearby taking an entire day. The fees are understandable.

  金融機関で働いてたけど お賽銭のお金は古いものとか錆びたものが多くて機械に通らないものが多かったし 近くにあった中規模神社の両替は1日がかりだった記憶 手数料も仕方ない

  — @AN-gz8jl31 likes

• We've never once turned away someone who comes into our shop just to get change, but please don't forget that the shop is paying fees for that change too.

  ウチの店にも両替目的で来る人を断わった事は無いけど 店側は両替に手数料払ってる事を忘れないで欲しいです。

  — @黒霧島-n1o63 likes

• The villains here are the banks that started charging for coin exchange and the government that let them 👍

  両替に手数料を必要とした銀行と其を認めた政府が悪👍

  — @しまうま-t3o269 likes

• What actually surprises me is that there are people who think shrines run for free.

  神社ってタダで運営してると思ってる人間がいる事に逆に驚く

  — @リュウたん58 likes

• Come on — upkeep is obviously not free, so the shrine's point sounds completely normal to me. We're being allowed to pray at a place other people maintain for the gods, so we shouldn't be doing things that burden them. Worshippers aren't customers, at the very least.

  いや、神社の維持費無料なわけないんやし、その言い分はぜんぜん普通やと思った。 神様や神社を維持していただいてる方にお参りさせて頂いてるんだから、相手（神社を維持されてる方）の迷惑になることはするべきじゃない。 少なくとも参拝者はお客さまじゃないんだし

  — @いーたかチャンネル-d6x44 likes

• I'm a priest at a small rural shrine in Tochigi. Speaking from that side: at a country shrine we're simply grateful that anyone comes to pray and puts anything in the box at all. Shrines that get plenty of visitors do tend to get full of themselves — though it depends on the person. I think a plain "please refrain from one-yen coins" would have been enough.

  栃木のとある田舎の神職です。 神職の立場から言うと田舎などの神社からするとご参拝して頂いたりお賽銭を入れてもらうだけで有難いです。 どうしても人がよくご参拝に来てくださる神社は調子に乗るというかそういうのが多いです。でも人によります。 普通に(1円玉はご遠慮下さい)だけで良かったのではと思います。

  — @yuu1777528 likes

• In this country there's a god in every grain of rice, and this priest says a one-yen coin is worthless? I've lost some respect.

  米にまで神様おるのに一円が無駄とか言っちゃう神主に失望した

  — @_jigsaw913902 likes

• Put a sign like that up and I guarantee more people start offering one-yen coins on purpose.

  こんなん書かれてると 絶対‼️ わざと１円玉入れる人増えそうだけどね。

  — @YAMATO-s6f225 likes

• They should just say it plainly: it's a burden for us, so please stop. That seems perfectly fair to me.

  迷惑だからやめてくれって、はっきり言えばいいのに。当然のことだと思う。

  — @モブ-l6h84 likes

• Hand those one-yen coins to the local shops that actually need them — the ones paying the bank a fee to get change. Swap with them for free.

  その1円玉が必要で、わざわざ銀行で手数料払って用意している商店に無償で両替してあげたら良い

  — @akiko51841,567 likes

• A priest I know says his shrine swaps its coins with a shop in the neighbourhood it has an arrangement with.

  知り合いの神職さんは地元で提携してる商店と両替してるって言ってた。

  — @天堂匠297 likes

• Send them to a one-yen coin drive — the Red Cross, say. Then they aren't meaningless, and the gods are smiling too.

  日本赤十字とかの1円玉募金にでも流したら無意味にならずに神様もニッコリやろなぁ

  — @すずめ-z9m78 likes

• Honestly, just put a QR code next to the box.

  いっそ、横にQRコードおいとこ

  — @きなこしあん23 likes

How much money should you put in a Japanese shrine's offering box?

There is no fixed amount, but this comment section has a floor. The most-liked suggestion (648 likes) is that shrines should simply write "please start from ten yen." Five yen survives for its pun, people reach for a note when the wish is big, and one-yen coins are the ones shrines are asking you to skip.

Why do some Japanese shrines ask you not to offer one-yen coins?

Because coins now cost money to bank. Japan Post Bank began charging to deposit coins at the counter in January 2022: as of mid-2026, up to 100 coins are free, 101-500 costs ¥550 and 501-1,000 costs ¥1,100, while coin deposits at its ATMs are charged from the very first coin. A former bank worker in the thread (31 likes) adds that offering coins are often too old and rusted to pass through a counting machine.

Is the five-yen coin really lucky?

It is a pun rather than doctrine: go-en means both "five yen" and "a good connection," which is why 15 yen ("more than enough connection") and 45 yen circulate too. One commenter (31 likes) avoids the 500-yen coin because it is the largest one there is — kouka means both "coin" and "effect," so there is no bigger effect left to buy.

Can you make an offering without cash in Japan?

At a handful of places. Kumano Nyakuoji Shrine in Kyoto added PayPay offerings, and Kansai TV reported roughly 50 of about 1,000 New Year worshippers scanning the code (as of early 2025). Commenters here keep asking for the same thing (23 likes). Assume the box in front of you is cash-only and carry coins.

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