初詣（はつもうで）literally meaning 'first' and 'shrine visit' is something most citizens of Japan take part in. Between December 29th-January 3rd, most people are off from work.
They take this time to parttake in the annual, thorough cleanup of their homes, called 大掃除（おおそうじ）, pay debts and visit friends and family and exchange gifts.
It is also a custom that the early day of New Year's Day is spent on worshipping gods at home at a 神棚（かみだな）- miniature household altar, followed by the consumption of special celebratory food such as おせち and ぞうに, and drinking a special sake called とそ;
During one of the first 3 days of the New Year, Japanese citizens go to a shrine or temple to parttake in the 初詣. The lines at temples and shrines are insanely long at this time, and it is always overcrowded. However, everyone makes sure to make wishes for the new year, buy new お守り（おまもり）- amulets that bring good luck and protection in relation to specific shintou kami, and to return old お守り to have them cremated.
Furthermore, during the 初詣, people like to buy 御神籤（おみくじ）, which are written oracles that make predictions on various aspects of your life for the upcoming year, such as love live, wealth, health, good luck, and more.
If the predictions are unlucky, citizens can choose to hang their fortune on a tree, or put it on the designated paper strip walls on the shrine or temple's ground, in hopes of having these predictions not come true after all. These get burned in spring. 御神籤 look different based on which shrine or temple they come from.
When making wishes at the shrine or temple, one must toss some money into a saisen box （賽銭箱 ー さいせんばこ）, hold the correct posture and bow deeply, two times. Said posture means putting both arms in front of you for women generally, and to the side for men. Right after this, put your hands at chest level and clap twice. Put your hands together again and pray as hard as you can. Lastly, take one more deep bow, and you have finished the procedure of making a wish, correctly!
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