A Shinto ritual was held Monday on the frozen surface of Lake Suwa in Nagano Prefecture to make predictions on weather, social trends and crop harvests based on a streak of elevated ice cracks observed Saturday for the first time in four years.
A priest from nearby Yatsurugi Shrine, together with devotees, checked the exact location of the streak of cracks and performed a purification rite. The predictions will be made later at the shrine by comparing data with past records.
Read the rest of the story: Priests peer into future on frozen Nagano lake.