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Country guide

Japan

Japan's sacred geography layers Shinto shrine landscapes, Buddhist temple networks, mountain ascetic practice, island pilgrimage, and urban devotional sites.

545 sacred sites across 64 regions. Use the tradition links to narrow in.

Sacred journeys

Pilgrimages in Japan

Follow routes that connect sacred places across Japan. Mapped-place counts reflect the current atlas. Showing 6 of 10 mapped routes.

View all 10 in Japan

Browse by region

Explore Japan region by region

Open a regional guide to see its sacred sites, traditions, and map.

Show all 63 regions

Explore Japan by facet

Dates connected to Japan

Upcoming festivals, feast days, and pilgrimages tied to Japan. Add any to your calendar, or see the full observance calendar.

Showing 49-96 of 545 sites in this country guide

Daihonzan Eiheiji (Eihei Temple)
Buddhism

Daihonzan Eiheiji (Eihei Temple)

Eiheiji Town, Fukui Prefecture, Japan

Hidden in the cedar forests of Fukui Prefecture, Eiheiji stands as one of the two head temples of Soto Zen Buddhism....

Daihōon-ji
Buddhism

Daihōon-ji

Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Daihōon-ji, known popularly as Senbon Shakadō, holds Kyoto's oldest surviving wooden building inside the city limits — a 1227 National Treasure main hall that survived the...

Daiji-ji
Buddhism

Daiji-ji

Yokoze, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

Daiji-ji, the tenth station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage, is a Sōtō Zen temple founded in 1490 in the Yokoze hills....

Daikaku-ji
Shingon Buddhism, Daikaku-ji school

Daikaku-ji

Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Heart Sutra, flower practice, and imperial memory beside Osawa Pond. Daikaku-ji remains an active Shingon Buddhism, Daikaku-ji school temple....

Daikō-ji
Buddhism

Daikō-ji

Mitoyo, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan

Daikō-ji, also known as Komatsuoji, sits in farmland on a low hill in Mitoyo, Kagawa....

Daimon Gate
UNESCOShingon Buddhism

Daimon Gate

Koyasan, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan

Daimon Gate (大門) is the monumental western gate of Koyasan and a dramatic arrival threshold from Choishi-michi.

Dainichi-ji
Buddhism

Dainichi-ji

Kōnan, Kochi Prefecture, Japan

Dainichi-ji enshrines Dainichi Nyorai, the cosmic Buddha at the centre of Shingon doctrine, in a wooded precinct in rural Kōnan....

Dainichi-ji
Buddhism

Dainichi-ji

Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan

Dainichi-ji stands directly across the road from Awa Ichinomiya Shrine, the highest-ranked Shintō shrine of Awa Province....

Dainichi-ji
Buddhism

Dainichi-ji

Itano, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan

Dainichi-ji is Temple 4 of the Shikoku 88, in Itano, Tokushima. It enshrines Dainichi Nyorai, the cosmic Buddha at the center of Shingon esotericism....

Daisen-ji
Buddhism

Daisen-ji

Daisen, Tottori Prefecture, Japan

Daisen-ji, the 29th station of the Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, sits high on Mt. Daisen — at 1,729 meters the highest peak in the Chūgoku region....

Daitoku-ji
Rinzai Zen Buddhism, Daitoku-ji school

Daitoku-ji

Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

A living Zen township of subtemples, gardens, and tea memory. Daitoku-ji remains an active Rinzai Zen Buddhism, Daitoku-ji school temple....

Daiun-in
Buddhism

Daiun-in

Tottori, Tottori Prefecture, Japan

Daiun-in in Tottori, the 33rd and final station of the Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, is the route's manzanji — the place where pilgrim journeys complete....

Danjo Garan
UNESCOShingon Buddhism

Danjo Garan

Koyasan, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan

Danjo Garan (壇上伽藍) is Koyasan's central monastic complex, associated with Kobo Daishi's establishment of the mountaintop center.

Dazaifu Tenmangu
Shinto

Dazaifu Tenmangu

Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

Dazaifu Tenmangu, stands in Dazaifu. At Dazaifu Tenmangu, Shinto guides custody. Prayer at Dazaifu Tenmangu addresses Tenjin, the deified Sugawara no Michizane....

Denzuin
Buddhism

Denzuin

Bunkyo City, Tokyo, Japan

Denzuin (傳通院) is an active Japanese Buddhism sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference...

Dewa Shrine and Mt. Haguro
Buddhism

Dewa Shrine and Mt. Haguro

Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan

Mount Haguro rises in Yamagata as the gateway to the Three Mountains of Dewa - Japan's most powerful journey of spiritual death and rebirth....

Dōgo Onsen
Shinto / Buddhism

Dōgo Onsen

Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan

Dōgo’s bathhouse is a public institution with a sacred narrative beside it.

Dōji-dō
Buddhism

Dōji-dō

Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

Dōji-dō is the twenty-second station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage — literally 'Children's Hall,' a Shingon Buzan-ha temple where Kannon has been invoked for...

Dōjō-ji
Buddhism

Dōjō-ji

Wakayama Prefecture, Japan

Dōjō-ji is the oldest documented temple in Wakayama Prefecture, founded in 701 CE by the monk Gien at Emperor Monmu's command....

Dōryū-ji
Buddhism

Dōryū-ji

Tadotsu, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan

Temple 77 Dōryū-ji in Tadotsu is known on the Shikoku route as the Eye-Healing Yakushi (me-naoshi Yakushi)....

Egami Church
UNESCORoman Catholic

Egami Church

Goto, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan

Egami Church, stands in Goto. At Egami Church, Roman Catholicism guides custody. Prayer at Egami Church addresses Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary within Catholic....

Eifuku-ji
Buddhism

Eifuku-ji

Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, Japan

Eifuku-ji sits in a quiet bamboo and cedar grove on a low hill above Imabari, the 57th stop on the Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage....

Eifuku-ji
Buddhism

Eifuku-ji

Osaka Prefecture, Japan

Eifuku-ji at Taishi-chō, Osaka, guards the tomb of Prince Shōtoku — Japan's foundational royal patron of Buddhism — alongside his mother and consort in a single circular...

Eikan-dō (Zenrin-ji)
Jōdo Buddhism, Seizan Zenrin-ji school

Eikan-dō (Zenrin-ji)

Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Amida turns back for those who have fallen behind. Eikan-dō (Zenrin-ji) remains an active Jōdo Buddhism, Seizan Zenrin-ji school temple....

Ekōin Temple
Buddhism

Ekōin Temple

Sumida City, Tokyo, Japan

Ekōin Temple (回向院) is an active Jōdo-shū Buddhism sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference...

En'yū-ji
Buddhism

En'yū-ji

Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

En'yū-ji is the twenty-sixth station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage — a Rinzai Zen temple of the Kenchō-ji branch with an unusual feature: the Iwai-dō, a stage-built...

Engaku-ji
Rinzai Zen Buddhism, Engaku-ji school

Engaku-ji

Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

Engaku-ji, stands in Kamakura. At Engaku-ji, Rinzai Zen Buddhism, Engaku-ji school guides custody....

Engyō-ji
Buddhism

Engyō-ji

Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan

Engyo-ji is station 27 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Tendai Buddhism temple in Hyogo dedicated to Nyoirin Kannon....

Enkō-ji (Myō-ō-in)
Buddhism

Enkō-ji (Myō-ō-in)

Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan

Enkō-ji, also known as Myō-ō-in, sits on Atago-yama above the Kusado Sengen archaeological site in Fukuyama, Hiroshima....

Enkōji
Buddhism

Enkōji

Sukumo, Kochi Prefecture, Japan

Enkō-ji is the thirty-ninth and final temple of the Tosa (Kōchi) section of the Shikoku 88, set in Sukumo....

Enmei-ji
Buddhism

Enmei-ji

Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, Japan

Temple 54 of the Shikoku henro is the first of six temples clustered around Imabari....

Enmyō-ji
Buddhism

Enmyō-ji

Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan

Temple 53 of the Shikoku henro is small, layered, and unusually plural. Its Shingon Hondō houses an Amida Nyorai principal image — uncommon for the school....

Enpuku-ji
Buddhism

Enpuku-ji

Chōshi, Chiba Prefecture, Japan

Enpuku-ji is the 27th Bandō station and the easternmost stop of the eastern Kannon circuit....

Enryaku-ji temple and Mt. Hiei
Buddhism

Enryaku-ji temple and Mt. Hiei

Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan

Enryaku-ji stands as the root of Japanese Buddhism, the mountain monastery that trained the founders of virtually every major Buddhist school in Japan....

Entsū-ji
Buddhism

Entsū-ji

Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan

Entsū-ji crowns a small mountain in Tamashima, Kurashiki, and serves as Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage station #7....

Former Togawa Oshi House
Fuji worship, Shinto, Buddhism, and Shugendo

Former Togawa Oshi House

Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan

Former Togawa Oshi House (旧外川家住宅) is a preserved oshi pilgrim-lodging house in Fujiyoshida associated with receiving, guiding, and ritually preparing Fuji-ko pilgrims.

Fuda Tenjin-sha
Shinto

Fuda Tenjin-sha

Chōfugaoka, Tokyo, Japan

Fuda Tenjin-sha (布多天神社) is an active Shinto sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference...

Fugoppe Cave
Shinto

Fugoppe Cave

Yoichi, Hokkaido, Japan

Carved into the walls of a small sea-facing cave near Yoichi, approximately 800 petroglyphs have puzzled scholars since their discovery in 1950....

Fujii-dera
Buddhism

Fujii-dera

Fujiidera, Osaka Prefecture, Japan

Fujii-dera is station 5 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Shingon-shū Omuro-ha temple in Osaka dedicated to Senju Kannon. Founded in the early 8th century....

Fujii-dera
Buddhism

Fujii-dera

Yoshinogawa, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan

Fujii-dera sits at the foot of a steep mountain ridge in Yoshinogawa, the threshold temple before the most demanding stretch of the Shikoku 88....

Fukagawa Fudō-dō
Buddhism

Fukagawa Fudō-dō

Koto City, Tokyo, Japan

Fukagawa Fudō-dō (深川不動堂 (成田山東京別院)) is an active Shingon Buddhism sacred place in Tokyo....

Fukutoku Shrine
Shinto

Fukutoku Shrine

Nihonbashimuromachi, Tokyo, Japan

Fukutoku Shrine (福徳神社(芽吹稲荷)) is an active Shinto sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference...

Fushimi Inari-taisha
Shinto

Fushimi Inari-taisha

Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Since 711 CE, pilgrims have climbed sacred Mount Inari through tunnels of vermilion torii gates—each one donated by someone whose prayers were answered, or who hoped they...

Futarasan Shrine (Nikkō Futarasan Jinja)
Shinto

Futarasan Shrine (Nikkō Futarasan Jinja)

Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan

Futarasan Shrine connects three sacred spaces in a vertical axis of worship: the main shrine at the base of Mount Nantai, the Chuguji by Lake Chuzenji, and the summit...

Gakuen-ji (Ichijō-in)
Buddhism

Gakuen-ji (Ichijō-in)

Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, Japan

Gakuen-ji (Ichijō-in), the 25th station of the Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, occupies a steep forested ridge north of Izumo Taisha....

Ganden-ji
Buddhism

Ganden-ji

Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

Ganden-ji — locally known as Iwadono Kannon — is the second station of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho, set on a hilltop above Zushi....

Gango-ji
UNESCOShingon Ritsu Buddhism

Gango-ji

Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan

Gango-ji, stands in Nara. At Gango-ji, Shingon Ritsu Buddhism guides custody. Prayer at Gango-ji addresses Chikō Mandala Amida imagery, Kannon, and Jizō....

Gankei-ji
Buddhism

Gankei-ji

Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Gankei-ji is station bangai-gankei-ji on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Tendai Buddhism temple in Kyoto dedicated to Kannon....

Showing 49-96 of 545 sites

Key questions

Japan sacred-site questions

What sacred sites can I explore in Japan?

Pilgrim Map lists sacred places in Japan across living worship sites, heritage landmarks, pilgrimage destinations, and culturally significant landscapes. The current guide lists 545 sites organized by region and tradition.

Which traditions are represented in Japan?

The most represented traditions include Buddhism, Shinto, Shingon Buddhism, Christianity, Shinto / Buddhism, Tendai Buddhism.

How should I plan a sacred-site visit in Japan?

Start with regional clusters, compare nearby places on the map, then open individual site pages for coordinates, etiquette, and sacred context where available.

Can I view Japan sacred sites on a map?

Yes. Switch to map view to compare geographic clusters, then open individual site pages for coordinates, visiting context, and related places.