People love to go to Shrines and Temples

One of the most popular is the Ise Shrine.
If you ever get a chance to go to Mie-ken I strongly recommend it.

In New Year Season I'd suggest to take public transport or if you go by car you should park your car one exit before the actual exit due to heavy traffic.
They offer buses to take you to the Shrine.

So back to the subject.
People love to go to Shrines and Temples on New Years.
What ever it is people come and go to pray for what ever reason.

Not one God but Japanese people believe gods live in many things.
There are Shrines for water, trees, sun, Gods that bring people together, ect, ect,

Interesting culture!

The tip I got was when you go pray.
You don't need to ask for what you want.
All you do is say your name, where your from, and give thanks.

Because whatever God it is we believe in.
What's important is the meaning we put on things that happen to us in our day to day lives.
What ever we focus on and put a meaning to it.

Going to pray on New Years has an important meaning to the Japanese people.
They don't necessary go to Church every Sunday but we can see on New Years that Japanese people have a strong belief in the almighty.