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Hatsumoude is a term that describes going to a Shinto shrine for the first time of the year and praying to the god of that shrine for blessings on the new year.
Of course, it depends on where you live, which shrine you visit, and the time of day or night that you go to pray, but generally, if you go to a major shrine during the daytime hours between January 1st and 3rd, you can expect to find a crowd of people waiting in a line, ten or more people across, slowly moving their way down a footpath through a series of torii gates, between the “Lion Dogs” (komainu) that guard the path, past food and toy vendors, and up to the shrine where they have a choice of waiting longer to pray in the middle of the shrine (which is more desirable) or waiting for a shorter period of time and praying in the less desirable positions that can be found to the left or right of the shrine’s frontal façade.
Praying in front of a shrine begins with making an offering of money to the god of the shrine.
Typically, this is a small offering, between five and five hundred yen, that is thrown into a wooden box placed between a railing and the shrine room itself. There are people, though, who do make larger offerings of 5,000 and even 10,000 yen (roughly 50 or 100 USD). After having made your offering, it is custom to bow twice, clap your hands twice, and then, while your hands are still together and without speaking, ask for a blessing of some sort. After having asked for a blessing, it is custom to bow once more before leaving the shrine.
In addition to praying, many people also buy protective talismans while doing hatsumoude.
These talismans can be bought at shrines any time throughout the year, but as is it custom in Japan to clean one’s house at the end of the year and begin the new year fresh and clean, the talismans of the old year are generally taken down from home shrines, removed from cars, wallets, bags, etc. at the end December and brought to shrines where they are burned and replaced.
There are many kinds of talismans that one can buy: talismans for love, talismans for health, talismans for studying and for safe driving, talismans for making money, fertility talismans, power talismans, and even talismans meant specifically for use by children.
The number of talismans available coupled with the amount of people shopping for them during the first week of January means that many shrines have to set up temporary wooden stalls on their grounds to accommodate the increased sales.
In addition to buying talismans, many people also like to buy a fortune for the year while doing hatsumoude.
These fortunes are called Omikuji in Japanese. There are two ways Omikuji can be bought, but the newer and more common way to buy one is to pay one-hundred-yen, reach your hand in a box, and pull out a small, folded piece of paper. Your fortune for the year, including details about your health, love life, work, home-life, investing possibilities, and more will be cryptically written on this piece of paper. A general forecast for the year will also be written there in the form of great, good, so-so, not very good, bad, very bad, and even cursed.
Undesirable fortunes are tied to the branches of pine trees and other objects on the shrine’s grounds so as to separate one’s self from the bad luck contained in the fortune. Desirable fortunes are often kept close to one’s person throughout the year—in a wallet or a purse—though some people believe that tying a good fortune to a pine tree on the grounds of the shrine will connect the fortune’s blessings to the god of the shrine and help to ensure that the fortune’s predictions come true.
Lastly, or perhaps, first, depending on the order in which things are done, hatsumoude typically involves a trip to the fire pit.
At the fire pit, last year's talismans and shrine decorations are burned in a show of respect and thanks to the god that has provided protection during the past year.
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