The most important celebration of the year!

Here is the list of the 10 most visited temples / shrines during the three first days of the New Year. The number of expected visitors was calculated by the Japanese Police, so you probably can expect those numbers to be rather accurate... As a matter of fact, two third of the population visit at least one shrine or temple during those three days, so if you want to meet with a huge crowd, this is the good time.

Rank	Temple / Shrine	Location	Religion	Number of expected visitors
1	Meiji Jingu	Tokyo	Shinto	3'100'000
2	Naritasan Shinshoji	Narita, Chiba	Buddhism (Shingon)	2'650'000
3	Kawasaki Daishi	Kawasaki, Kanagawa	Buddhism (Shingon)	2'620'000
4	Fushimi Inari	Fushimi, Kyoto	Shinto	2'600'000
5	Atsuta Jingu	Nagoya, Aichi	Shinto	2'330'000
6	Sumiyoshi Taisha	Osaka	Shinto	2'300'000
7	Tsurugaoka Hachinangu	Kamakura, Kanagawa	Shinto	2'100'000
8	Dazaifu Tenmanngu	Dazaifu, Fukuoka	Shinto	2'000'000
9	Omiya Hikawa Jinja	Omiya, Saitama	Shinto	1'870'000
10	Sensoji	Asakusa, Tokyo	Buddhism (Sho Kannon)	1'750'000

source : www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/annualev.htm

An advice for people who are little afraid of the crowd. I'm going every year to Narita san, the number two on sanji list, and if you want to avoid the crowd, go there early morning on the first.
I usually go there to watch the sunrise and you can easily walked around.

If you are not afraid of the crowd be prepared for this