Shinto shrines are widely popular throughout Japan (approximately 100,000). They are used as part of the Shinto (meaning “the way of the gods”), or the spirituality of the Japanese people, for the purpose of housing spirits (kami) in the honden. The Japanese people believed that the land and natural elements, even animals, were spiritual and powerful. Basically, the land and creatures are worshipped as gods which they call kami. I think that this shows how the people harmonize with their surroundings and what their culture is based on. Shinto shrines are much like what Christians would call churches. They hold wedding ceremonies in them, bring their babies to the shrine for luck, and visit on special holidays such as New Years.
Shinto shrines are all typically set up in the same way. Torii gates mark the entrance of a shrine. They are usually made of wood and sometimes painted. On either side of the entrance there are Komainu which are guardian dogs, foxes, or lions. A great example of this that I have personally seen are the lions outside of the Americanized Asian markets. Also found near the entrance of the shrines are purification troughs. Before entering the shrine, one must wash their hands for the purpose of purification and cleansing. Inside you will find either one building made up of the honden (main hall) and the haiden (offering hall) or the honden and haiden in separate buildings. Regardless of the separation or not, the honden is the most important part of the shrine and is usually placed above the rest of its surroundings in the center. Generally, besides during religious festivals, the honden is closed off to the public and fenced in. Inside the honden is where the “sacred body of the kami” (goshintai) is kept. Only the shinto priests may enter to perform rituals. However, regardless of their great importance, hondens don't even exist in some shrines because of the belief that the kami are bonded to their surrounding land or such. The haiden is where visitors do offering and pray. Another thing that can be found in some shrines as well as Buddhist temples are ema which are wooden plaques on which visitors write their wishes, the most popular being passing exams, love, and wealth. The ema are sold at the shrine to help secure the shrine financially. Talismans are also sold at shrines for good luck in child birth, traffic, etc. Another lucky thing found in some temples are omikuji which are fortune slips that contain anything from great good luck to bad luck. By tying the slips to a tree branch, either the good luck comes or the bad luck is prevented.
There are many different kinds of Shinto Shrines. There are thousands of shrines across Japan dedicated to Inari (the kami of rice), the most famous being Kyoto's Fushimi Inari. There are also many thousand shrines dedicated to Hachiman (the kami of war), the most famous being Kamakura's Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. There are many Sengen Shrines which are dedicated to Princess Konohanasakuya who is the deity of Mount Fuji. There are also many shrines dedicated to past leaders and scholars.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2059.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto_shrine
http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/shinto/shrines.html
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