Shrine and temple etiquette: gate, hall and shop

Keep to the side of the path. Two visitor guides say the centre belongs to the deities, while Jinja Honcho calls avoiding the centre of the approach (the kami’s path) a custom some people keep, not a rule. The side costs you nothing.

There is no dress ban, though the Aichi guide advises against revealing clothes and shorts. Shrine worship happens mostly outdoors, so Sapporo’s tourist association suggests hand warmers in winter.

1. Take the ladle in your right hand and rinse your left hand.
2. Switch hands and rinse your right.
3. Cup your left hand, pour water in and rinse your mouth. Do not drink from the ladle or touch it to your mouth.
4. Rinse the ladle handle, then put the ladle back.

Do not pour unused water back into the fountain.

How many scoops? Sapporo’s tourist association says one at the start. Another guide says that limit is not in official guidance, and Jinja Honcho’s page names no number. Treat one as common advice, not a rule.

1. Put a coin in the offering box.
2. Ring the bell, if there is one.
3. Bow twice, deeply (about 90 degrees).
4. Clap twice.
5. Pray.
6. Bow once.

Jinja Honcho gives the core as two bows, two claps, one bow. Sapporo’s tourist association adds the coin, the bell and the 90-degree bow.

Jinja Honcho says there is no fixed amount for a shrine offering. It mentions the jokes about a 5 yen coin (go-en) and 45 yen (shiju-go-en), then says gratitude and sincerity matter, not the sum. Offerings began as rice and moved to coins later. Offer the coin politely rather than throwing it.

• No clapping. Aichi’s visitor guide says clapping is not a temple practice and asks visitors to avoid it. One English etiquette guide does not mention the difference at all, so it is easy to miss.
• Pray quietly. Coin in the box, short silent prayer. Chant a mantra only if signs say so.
• Shoes off inside buildings. Look for shelves or plastic bags, wear socks and take off your hat.
• Never step on a threshold.
• Incense. Buy one stick and light it from the flame provided, not from another visitor’s candle. Wave the flame out instead of blowing it, then place the stick in the burner.

Before you go Carry coins for the offering box and the stamp desk, and wear socks for temple buildings.

Often yes outside, often no inside. Sources agree on the pattern and differ on detail, so the sign decides.

• Grounds: usually fine.
• Inside buildings: often banned. Kyoto guidance reportedly bars photos of main hall interiors and Buddhist statues.
• Never: during rituals, in front of the offering box, or of people praying.
• Torii: one guide asks visitors not to take photos from the middle of the path through the gate.

Jinja Honcho’s pages do not address photography, so each shrine sets its own rule. Photographing people in Gion is a different question, covered in Gion: what you may photograph and Can I photograph a geisha in Gion?.

A goshuin is a stamp and brushed calligraphy that shrines and temples write in a dedicated book. Pray first, then go to the desk.

• Fee: commonly $2 to $3 (¥300 to ¥500), with a range up to $6 (¥1,000). Most sites post no price, so carry coins.
• Books: a separate book for shrines and for temples is a convention, not a rule. Sources disagree on how firmly it is kept.
• No book: do not hand over an ordinary notebook to be written in. Ask for a pre-written paper stamp.
• Meaning: Jinja Honcho traces goshuin to sutra offerings and describes the book as a commemoration of a visit.

Dollar figures use about ¥155 to US$1 and are rounded; you pay in yen, so check the rate.

Penalties run from a litter fine to prison terms, per Kyoto’s tourism site. Trespass in restricted temple or shrine areas carries up to 3 years in prison or $645 (¥100,000). Damaging property carries up to 3 years or $1,940 (¥300,000). Kyoto has 43 “Beautification Promotion Areas”, including Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari, where litter and similar offences bring fines up to $195 (¥30,000).

Most temples and shrines stay open from 29 December to 4 January, though each sets its own hours, while shops, banks, ATMs and many restaurants close, especially on 1 January. First visits of the year (hatsumode) bring more than 1 million people each to Meiji Shrine, Fushimi Inari, Sumiyoshi Taisha and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu in the first days, with queues of an hour or more. Fushimi Inari is quieter at early hours, and temples ring bells at midnight.

Offerings and stamps are paid in coins, so get them before the banks and ATMs close.

To verify No source states a rule on tattoos at shrines or temples, and Jinja Honcho’s pages do not address them. Absence of a rule is not permission, so read the sign or ask the office. The Kyoto photo wording is medium confidence, and goshuin fees come from an embassy newsletter and one magazine, not an official list.