First Shrine Visit of the Year: Hatsumode in Japan

During the New Year in Japan, people perform hatsumode, the first visit to a shrine or temple. Families, couples, and friends put on their warmest clothes (and sometimes a kimono!), brave the winter chill, and step through shrine gates to pray for good luck, health, and happiness. Lanterns glow, bells ring, and the air fills with the scent of incense and festival snacks, turning the first days of January into something truly magical.

Hatsumode

Hatsumode typically occurs between January 1 and January 3, although some people line up before midnight on New Year’s Eve to be among the first visitors of the year. People can choose to visit a Shinto shrine, a Buddhist temple, or both, depending on their family tradition. The primary purpose is to express gratitude for the past year and to ask for blessings in the year ahead.

At famous spots like Meiji Jingu in Tokyo or Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, crowds can be huge, with long lines slowly leading up to the main hall. Visitors toss coins into the offering box, bow twice, clap twice, make a silent wish, then bow once more. Smaller neighborhood shrines have a cozier feel but the same warm spirit, decorated with pine and bamboo arrangements that symbolize strength and good fortune.

Hatsumode is also when many people return last year’s charms to be ritually burned and purified. Then they pick up new ones, starting the year with fresh protection and hopes. This rhythm of letting go of the old and welcoming the new fits perfectly with the feeling of a clean slate on January 1.

Omikuji

One of the most exciting parts of a New Year shrine visit is drawing omikuji, or paper fortunes. After making a small offering, visitors shake a box or choose a numbered stick, then receive a slip of paper printed with their fortune for the year. These fortunes range from “great blessing” to “great curse,” but even the not-so-great ones include advice on how to avoid bad luck and improve your situation.

If the fortune is good, many people fold it carefully and take it home, tucking it into a wallet, bag, or diary. If the message is unlucky, the usual custom is to tie the omikuji to special racks or tree branches in the shrine grounds. This is believed to “leave” the bad luck behind so it will not follow you home. Comparing omikuji with friends and family is part of the fun, with everyone laughing, teasing, and secretly hoping for the best result.

Ema

Another popular New Year tradition at shrines is writing wishes on ema, small wooden plaques. Visitors write their hopes for the year, passing exams, staying healthy, success at work, romance, safe travels, or even dreams of studying abroad on one side of the plaque. Then they hang the ema on special racks at the shrine so the kami (deities) can “read” them.

During the New Year season, these racks fill up quickly, becoming walls of handwritten wishes in a variety of handwriting styles and languages. Some shrines feature ema with cute zodiac animal designs for that particular year, making them fun keepsakes as well. Reading all the different wishes is a heartwarming reminder that everyone is hoping and working toward something special in the year ahead.

Omamori

The New Year is also the peak season for buying omamori, colorful fabric amulets that offer protection or luck in specific areas of life. Each omamori has a theme, such as safe driving, good health, smooth childbirth, academic success, love, or business prosperity. Inside the small fabric pouch is a blessed charm or prayer paper that should never be opened; instead, the omamori is kept as-is in a bag, wallet, car, or on a keychain.

During hatsumode, shrine stalls display rows of omamori in various colors and designs. People choose them not only for themselves but also as gifts for family and friends, almost like sending good-luck “energy” into their year. At the end of the year, old omamori are returned to the shrine for proper disposal, and new ones are purchased, thereby maintaining the protective cycle.

Kimono Rentals

Hatsumode is not just spiritual, it is also stylish. Around prominent shrines and temples, especially in cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kamakura, kimono rental shops become very popular at the New Year. Many visitors, both locals and tourists, rent a kimono or hakama set for the day, complete with obi belts, traditional bags, and sometimes even hairstyling.

Wearing a kimono for hatsumode makes the whole experience feel extra festive and photogenic. Groups of friends in bright patterns, couples in matching colors, and families dressed in traditional outfits add even more charm to shrine grounds. Walking under the giant torii gates, drawing omikuji, or posing with ema while wearing kimono, turns a simple New Year visit into a special memory and, of course, the photos look amazing too.

Kimono rental shops typically offer packages that include dressing assistance and accessories, allowing even first-time wearers to enjoy the look without needing to know how to tie everything themselves. It is a fun way to step into Japanese tradition for a day while celebrating the start of the year.

New Year Shrine Experience

All these elements, hatsumode prayers, omikuji fortunes, ema wishes, omamori charms, and kimono rentals, come together to create the unique atmosphere of a Japanese New Year shrine visit. Lanterns flicker as people line up quietly, bells ring in the distance, and food stalls nearby sell warm treats like taiyaki, yakisoba, and sweet amazake to keep everyone cozy. 

If it is your first time or a yearly tradition, visiting a shrine for hatsumode is a beautiful way to step into the new year. You say thank you to the old year, make a wish for the new one, pick up a little luck to carry in your pocket, and even walk away in a gorgeous kimono, snapshot-ready for your next adventure. Have you ever experienced any of these New Year’s traditions? Let us know in the comments below!