Sometimes I visit cathedrals/churches, simply because they’re pretty and have a rich cultural background to them. I’d say that’s sorta similar to what people in Japan are doing nowadays? I’d like to visit a Japanese shrine too someday.
This is more than just touristing. They’re doing something superstitious without considering it religious.
Buddhism and Shintoism are deeply ingrained into Japanese culture. Like how many non-religious Americans celebrate Christmas and even Easter, many non-religious Japanese people will, for example, go to a shrine during the first couple days of the new year for good fortune (Hatsumode) and celebrate Obon by cleaning the family gravesite.
I mean, those statistics saying most Japanese are atheistic are bs and are mostly about how Japanese people perceive religion, not really if they follow it or not
I’ve heard a great aphorism about this topic in that the national religion of Japan is “being Japanese”.
