For Pocky devotees, here’s the latest version. “Omikuji Pocky” which you can roughly understand as “Fortune Telling Pocky.” Omikuji is a kind of fortune telling that you can find in Shinto shrines.

You pay some money, a priest hands you a barrel and you pull out a stick with a number. The number corresponds to a fortune. You then tie this paper fortune onto a tree to try to bring you teh good luck you’ve selected–or pray against the bad luck you might inadvertently have chosen.

The Japanese are really into this kind of thing, and you can see omikuij papers all over the trees of shrines. I was really into omikuji as a kid, but now I don’t like letting some random piece of paper determine my future.

I’m afraid I’ve eaten most of these omikuji Pocky. And I didn’t consult my fortunes very much or tie them anywhere. Most had to do with my romantic prospects and . . . well . . . I’m married now.