A record 89.66 million people visited Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples during the first three days of the new year, up by around 770,000 from last year, the National Police Agency said Wednesday.
The NPA has data on New Year's religious visits dating to 1974.
Meiji Shrine in Tokyo drew 3.1 million visitors, followed by Shinshoji Temple in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, at 2.65 million and Kawasaki Daishi Temple in Kawasaki at 2.62 million. The rankings were the same as last year.