More at the shrine

 Shinto shrines often have boards like these, called ema, where people write their wishes and leave them for the gods. This group were obviously made by children.

They covered covered the length of the fence and were probably made by students at a local kindergarten.

Many shrines are famous for a particular thing that the god might grant. For example, a large number of shrines are famous because students preparing for the college entrance exams leave ema asking that they be accepted at some university. Once the word spreads that students who leave ema have a high acceptance rate, more and more students arrive to leave ema and to greet the god at the altar where they leave a small offering of money. It is the thought that counts, not so much the amount.