Hatsumode (New Year's First Shrine Visit)

Hatsumode is the Japanese custom of making the first visit to a shrine or temple in the new year, typically within the first three days of January. It is one of the most widely observed traditions in Japan — during the New Year period, major shrines receive millions of visitors. Meiji Jingu in Tokyo regularly tops the list with around three million visitors over the holiday period.

For most Japanese people, hatsumode is a cultural tradition rather than a strictly religious obligation. Families dress in their best clothes (sometimes including kimono), visit a shrine or temple, toss coins into the offering box, pray for a good year ahead, and then draw omikuji (fortune slips). They may also purchase new omamori (protective charms) for the coming year, returning the old ones to the shrine to be ritually burned.

The custom in its current mass form is actually relatively modern, dating to the Meiji era when railway companies promoted visits to specific shrines along their train lines. Before that, people typically visited their local ujigami (tutelary deity) shrine. Today, hatsumode serves as a rare occasion when the entire nation participates in a shared cultural ritual, regardless of individual religious belief.