Shrines in Japan are typically associated with the native religion called Shinto, or the Way of the Gods. Shinto is a polytheistic belief which pays respect to the gods and/or spirits which exist in everything. For example, a mountain can be a god, a river can be a god, and a tree can be a god. All things can be gods or spirits, but that doesn't necessarily mean that all gods are things- some spirits bring good luck, others are guardians for people, while others are the embodiment of a state of mind.
With shrine names, most of them have the name of the shrine first followed by the word Jinja 神社(i.e. Hikawa Jinja, Asakusa Jinja, etc.), which is read in English as "God House". However, many shrine names use a variety of other characters to replace Jinja but will often end with the character/sound "gû". (i.e. Hachimangû, Tôshôgû, -gû, Jingû, etc) These are all various names with the character 宮 meaning building, shrine, or palace. Shrines that use the title of Jingû are amongst the highest tier of shrines in Japan and will often be associated with the Imperial Family either through personal connection or patronage.
A quick little interlude: every once in a while there are parts of temples and shrines that just seems like they overlap. A temple may have a torii, a shrine might be on temple grounds, or a variety of other overlaps. If there isn’t overlap, then there’s often an odd proximity feature where the shrine will be just outside of the temple grounds, or a statue of a buddha will be sitting next to the front torii. I’m often asked why that is, so here’s the simple answer: for the majority of Japan’s history there was no distinction between the two structures. Sure a complex would be focused towards one form of worship over the other, but both practices could and would be found. It wasn’t until rapid modernization in the Meiji Period that a formal separation between the two was set into place. In order to nationalise and eventually to imperialise, it was necessary to have a quality that was uniquely Japanese to fuel propaganda, so the government settled on Shinto. But because Shinto was practiced within temples too, a line was drawn and changes were made. For this reason, temples and shrines are often very close to one another if not still overlapping in some way.
Because of the influence of Buddhism, shrines can be a bit difficult to identify from time to time as many Shinto shrines take on aspects of Buddhist temples, like the iconic way that the corners of the roof will curve upwards. What is often the same is that shrines will use natural wood and rarely will it have stains or other kinds of preservatives. In major cities, shrines will adopt modern architecture and can be sometimes hard to find, but most often banners, references to traditional architecture, and torii draw attention to the structure. The roof of a shrine will sometimes have joints sticking upwards called forked finials, chigi in Japanese. They jut out the tops of the main support beam making it look like two "V"s, and in between will be ornate weights made of short logs along the beam to weigh the roof down. The one thing which is always at a shrine is a torii or gate. These "T"-like structures are iconic in Japanese society and represent the boundary between the human and spirit realms.
Like with many religious sites around the world, visiting a shrine warrants a general set of guidelines of how one should act when visiting. Now, none of this is practiced perfectly by everyone, but many follow most of the steps and there are some which are more important than others. Following these instructions will certainly make you look like less of a tourist and more like a respectful enthusiast of Japanese culture. Failing to follow at least some of these guidelines will make you look very disrespectful and rude not only to the god of the shrine you are visiting but also to the people and the country to which you are visiting. Remember, you are a guest, and though the Japanese people nor yourself probably truly believe in the gods or deities which watch over Japan, it is important that you follow the procedures to show respect and humility for customs and traditions of the people; by visiting shrines it's the people who you are paying your respects to rather than the gods.
First, when visiting a shrine there is almost always a main large tori gate representing the boundary of the shrine. At this gate you should stop and bow from the hips before entering. By doing this you are showing your respect to the god who's shrine you are entering. This is one of the easiest and most effective ways of proving to others around you that you know what you're doing. Several times when I did this I could hear an audible response from onlookers of shock that I knew what I was doing. It is intended that guests be doing this for every torii you encounter, but there is a type of shrine called an Inari shrine which has dozens even hundreds of tori one after the next; in these situations you don't need to bow at every one, but bowing at the first is the best. Next proceed down the path towards the shrine making sure to keep off to one side of the path since the middle is reserved for the gods. Are either of these points required? No, but it doesn't hurt to get on good terms with the local community, and it may send a little more luck your way from the gods.
At some point along the way there will be a little fountain/tub with little cups on sticks usually wresting on top of a bamboo shaft. This fountain is a cleansing station so that visitors may wash impurities off before entering into the shrine itself. To cleanse oneself, first take the cup and scoop some water followed by pouring a bit onto your left hand enough to get it went but no need to dump, then follow that up with your right hand. Again, you’re not dumping the water, it’s a little pour of water. In theory, you should be able to complete all the rinsing steps without having to refil your cup. Make sure that the water that you are pouring DOES NOT make it back into the fountain but rather on the ground or the drain basin below. Next, pour a little water into you left hand and drink it to clean your mouth. Think of this part like rinsing with mouthwash, you want to rinse your mouth but don't actually drink the water, in stead spit it out back onto the ground. Since your left hand touched your mouth before it was cleaned, rinse your left hand again, and then with what water is left, angle the cup vertical so that the water drips down the handle thereby cleansing the handle for the next person who uses it. In review, it’s: left, right, left hand mouth rinse, left, then handle cleanse. This part of the shrine visit is HIGHLY recommended!!!
The next part of your visit is to pray at the shrine itself. This is very easy to do and if in doubt, watch other people do it. Obviously this part is mandatory. Grab some money, about 5-10 yen, and toss it into the cash receptacle to pay the god for their services. Be sure to not throw in a bunch of coins because #1 it's seen as flaunting your wealth and is considered extremely rude to the people and the gods and #2 it will bring you bad luck instead of good. So it's ok to be stingy and just give about 5-10 yen since you will probably have the most of those coins sitting around anyways. If there is a rope hanging with a bell or a gong, ring those next since those are there to call the god's attention to you before praying. Bow twice, clap twice, and pray! It's that easy!!! Usually I never really asked for anything but rather thanked the deities for all the fun and good times I was having while I was there. I'm not saying that they're real or that they listen, but I didn't get any bad luck in my travels until the last week before returning home. When you are done praying, bow again to thank the god for listening, and enjoy the rest of your visit to the shrine. On your way out, be sure to stop at the gate(s) you bowed at while entering to stop, turn, and bow back to the god to thank them for letting you visit. For extra good luck, feel free to buy good luck charms, but if you don't know what one means, feel free to ask; you don't want to be a guy and accidentally buy a charm for a successful pregnancy now do you?
