The traditional Japanese first visit to a shrine or temple during the New Year is called hatsumode.
Hatsumode literally refers to the first visit of the year and usually takes place during the first days of January. Visitors pray for health, safety, and good fortune, buy protective charms, return old talismans, and draw omikuji fortune slips. Some people visit just after midnight, while others choose a quieter time later in the holiday period.
Hatsumode is not the same ritual as Joya no Kane, the Buddhist bell ringing performed on New Year's Eve. The two customs often appear together in accounts of Japanese New Year because people may hear temple bells before making their first visit. Hatsumode can occur at either a Shinto shrine or a Buddhist temple, reflecting Japan's long history of overlapping religious practices.