Handmade omikuji ideas: DIY crafts you can make and play with
Many people visit shrines to pray and draw omikuji during major events like New Year’s and entrance exams, don’t they?
It can be a bit worrying if you get a bad fortune, but the excitement of not knowing what you’ll get is fun, isn’t it?
This article introduces ideas for making your own omikuji.
With origami or recycled materials, you might be surprised at how easy they are to make.
Since most designs are simple, they’re great for crafts with children.
Give it a try as a little New Year’s entertainment!
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Handmade omikuji ideas: DIY crafts you can make and play with (1–10)
Omikuji Roulette
This is a roulette-style omikuji made from a milk carton.
Cut 5 cm off the top of the carton, press the top into a cross shape to form the internal paddles for the roulette, and staple them in place.
Next, make slits in the main body part and fold them inward.
Make a coin slot and a hole for a bamboo skewer on the side, then set the roulette paddles you just made inside so they move in sync with the skewer.
Finally, make the external roulette dial out of cardboard, attach it, and you’re done! The mechanism spins the roulette when you insert a coin, so you can tell your fortune every time you save money, which makes it extra fun.
Fortune slips made with a snack tube
Here’s a simple fortune-drawing game using a cylindrical container, like an empty potato chip can.
Spread glue on construction paper and stick it to the side and lid, then make a hole in the lid just big enough for a coin to pass through.
Next, write fortunes on clean, dried ice cream sticks and put them in the container.
Apply adhesive around the inner rim of the lid and close it, and your instant fortune-drawing game is ready! The fun part of a handmade fortune is that you can freely come up with the contents.
Why not create it with the whole family while thinking up amusing fortunes with your child?
Surprise Omikuji Coin Bank
Be amazed by the roulette that pops out the instant you put in money! It’s a fortune-telling piggy bank with a fun mechanism.
Cut a milk carton and make a coin slot, then build the mechanism using items like thick paper, rubber bands, kite string, and pieces cut from a plastic bottle.
Set the roulette, made from a plastic wrap core and cardboard, inside, and finish it off with big eyes that make it look like it’s staring intently at the money going in.
Since the mechanism is a bit complex, if you’re making it with a child, it might be best to have them handle the exterior decorations around the box.
Handmade omikuji ideas: DIY crafts you can make and play with (11–20)
Shishimai Omikuji
If you see a smiling shishi-mai (lion dance) omikuji, the kids will definitely want to stick their hands in! Prepare an empty shoebox or similar, and cut a hole in the top to match the size of a drain strainer lid.
Attach parts to form the lion dance face around the hole, then install the drain strainer lid—trim the central rubber section into a circle to make it nicer to the touch—and your omikuji box is complete! After that, just put the fortunes inside.
Besides fortunes, it’s also recommended to write messages that will make the children smile.
A fortune slip made with an empty box and straws
This is a simple project: use an empty box as a container for omikuji fortunes and make the fortunes themselves from straws.
It’s important to choose an empty box that matches the size you want, and you could even start by making a small box yourself.
Cut the straws to a length that fits inside the box, and write the fortune—such as “Great Blessing (Daikichi)”—on the tip.
You can decorate the box however you like; include motifs that bring good luck to make it a fun omikuji.
Designing it mainly in red is recommended, as it evokes the atmosphere of shrines where omikuji are placed.
Paku-Paku Fortune
Let’s put your fingers in, open and close it, and try telling your fortune! It’s a fortune-teller you can make in no time with just origami paper and a pen.
Fold the origami paper into a triangle and open it, then fold it into a triangle again so the diagonal creases cross.
Fold all four corners to the point where the creases meet, flip it over, and fold the corners toward the center the same way.
Finally, bring the four corners to the center and open the flaps around the sides, and your chatterbox (fortune-teller) is complete.
Write fortunes inside so you can tell one when it’s opened.
The folding is very simple, so try making it together with your child!
triangle omikuji
This is a three-dimensional, pyramid-shaped fortune slip made with origami.
Cut a sheet of origami paper in half, fold it in half, and then crease along the diagonals.
Fold two sides along those lines, then tuck the pointed tip inward.
Repeat this process four times, rotating the piece each time.
Pinch along the creases to naturally form a 3D shape.
Finally, secure it with glue so it doesn’t open, and place the fortune slip inside to finish.
It can also be used as a small gift box for candy or jewelry.