New Year shrine visits — hatsumode — are Japan’s most widely practised holiday tradition, drawing over a billion individual visits nationwide each year. The five most visited sites are Meiji Jingu in Tokyo (c. 3.18 million over three days), Naritasan Shinshoji in Chiba (c. 3.06 million), Kawasaki Daishi in Kanagawa (c. 3.03 million), Fushimi Inari in Kyoto (c. 2.7 million), and Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka (c. 2.3 million).
Peak congestion falls between midnight and 3 a.m. on 1 January, and again at midday on the second and third. The quietest windows are 5–7 a.m. on New Year’s morning after the initial rush, or any weekday from 4 January onward. Fushimi Inari’s thousand torii gates are accessible around the clock, making a 2–4 a.m. visit on 1 January surprisingly peaceful.
Basic etiquette: bow at the torii, rinse hands at the purification fountain, offer a coin, bow twice, clap twice, bow once more, and hold a moment of quiet prayer. Amulets from last year should be returned to any shrine’s old-charm box; new ones can be purchased to carry through the coming year.
Final update: 21 May 2026