In Japan, the first shrine or temple visit of the New Year is called hatsumode.
Hatsumode literally refers to the first visit, and people commonly make it during the first days of January. Visitors pray for health, safety, good fortune, and success, and many purchase amulets, fortunes, or other religious items. Large shrines and temples can attract very substantial crowds.
Some people visit immediately after midnight on January 1, linking hatsumode directly with New Year’s Eve celebrations. Others go later, when transport and queues are more manageable. Both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples can be destinations.
Hatsumode is not the same as Shōgatsu, the broader Japanese New Year period, and it is distinct from hanami, the spring custom of viewing cherry blossoms. It is also separate from Joya no Kane, the Buddhist bell-ringing ceremony performed at the end of the old year.