Country guide
Japan
Japan's sacred geography layers Shinto shrine landscapes, Buddhist temple networks, mountain ascetic practice, island pilgrimage, and urban devotional sites.
345 sacred sites across 106 regions. Use the tradition and site-type filters to narrow in.
Atlas summary
Japan sacred sites overview
Japan sacred sites include major Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, Kannon pilgrimage circuits, sacred mountains, temple towns, and quiet local places shaped by seasonal ritual.
Use the page to compare regional clusters and traditions, then move into route-linked sites and individual pages for coordinates, context, and nearby sacred stops.
| Coverage | 345 sacred sites across 106 regions. |
|---|---|
| Regional clusters | |
| Traditions | |
| Site types | |
| UNESCO heritage | 5 UNESCO-tagged sites in this country guide. |
Showing 97-144 of 345 sites in this country guide
Ishi-no-Hoden, Himeji
Takasago, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
Rising from a sacred pool whose waters never dry, Ishi-no-Hoden appears to defy gravity itself....
Ishibutai Kofun, Asuka
Asuka, Nara Prefecture, Japan
In the Asuka valley, thirty granite megaliths weighing over 2,200 tons form Japan's largest known ancient burial chamber....
Ishite-ji (石手寺)
Matsuyama, Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan
Temple 51 of the Shikoku henro is the legendary birthplace of the entire pilgrimage tradition....
Ishiteji Temple, Matsuyama
Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan
At Temple 51 of Japan's most famous pilgrimage, a stone preserved for twelve centuries tells of sin, remorse, and redemption....
Ishiyama-dera (石山寺)
Otsu, Otsu, Shiga, Japan
Ishiyama-dera is station 13 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Shingon Buddhism, Heian aristocratic Kannon devotion temple in Shiga dedicated to Nyoirin Kannon....
Iwamoto-ji (岩本寺)
Shimanto, Shimanto, Kōchi, Japan
Iwamoto-ji is the thirty-seventh stop on the Shikoku 88 and the only one enshrining five principal images simultaneously — Fudō Myōō, Shō Kannon, Amida Nyorai, Yakushi...
Iwanoue-dō (岩之上堂)
Chichibu, Japan
Iwanoue-dō is the twentieth station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage, a Rinzai Zen hall of the Nanzen-ji branch perched on a bluff above the Arakawa river....
![Iwaya-ji [ja] (岩屋寺)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Flive.staticflickr.com%2F5674%2F23792583391_6cd21251b5_b.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Iwaya-ji [ja] (岩屋寺)
Kumakōgen, Kumakōgen, Ehime, Japan
Iwaya-ji is the forty-fifth temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage and a designated National Scenic Beauty....
Iyadani-ji (弥谷寺)
Mitoyo, Mitoyo, Kagawa, Japan
Iyadani-ji is one of three reizan — spirit mountains — of Shikoku, places where the souls of the dead are traditionally felt to gather....
Iyo Kokubun-ji (伊予国分寺)
Imabari, Imabari, Ehime, Japan
Iyo Kokubun-ji is the 59th fudasho on the Shikoku 88 and one of the original kokubunji established in 741 by Emperor Shōmu's edict to protect the realm....
Izanagi Shinto Shrine, Awaji Island
Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
On Awaji Island—the first land formed in Japanese creation mythology—stands the shrine built over the tomb of the god who created Japan....
Izumo Taisha (Izumo Grand Shrine)
Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, Japan
Each October by the lunar calendar, something extraordinary happens in Izumo. While the rest of Japan celebrates Kannazuki, the Month Without Gods, this corner of Shimane...
Jigen-ji (慈眼寺)
Chichibu, Japan
Jigen-ji, thirteenth station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage, is a Sōtō Zen temple whose name — 'compassionate eyes' — is drawn from a verse of the Kannon Sutra....
Jikō-ji (慈光寺)
Tokigawa, Japan
Jikō-ji on Mount Toki, founded in tradition in 673 and as an institution in 770 CE, is one of the oldest Tendai mountain temples in the Kantō....
Jinne-in (神恵院)
Kan'onji, Kan'onji, Kagawa, Japan
Jinne-in stands on Mt. Kotohiki in Kan'onji, Kagawa, sharing a single precinct with Kannon-ji at Temple 69 — one of the rarest configurations on the Shikoku 88....
Jion-ji (慈恩寺)
Saitama, Japan
Jion-ji is the twelfth station of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage, founded by tradition in the early ninth century by Ennin and named for Daji'en-si in Tang Chang'an —...
Jizō-ji (地蔵寺)
Itano, Itano, Tokushima, Japan
Jizō-ji is Temple 5 of the Shikoku 88, in Itano, Tokushima. Within the principal Enmei Jizō image is a smaller Shōgun Jizō said to be carved by Kūkai....
Jodo-ji
Japan
Gokurakusan Jōdo-ji in Ono shelters two of the only Buddhist National Treasures in Hyōgo: the 1194 Jōdō-dō, a rare survival of Daibutsu-yō architecture, and Kaikei's...
Jōdo-ji (Daijōritsu-in)
Onomichi, Japan
Jōdo-ji crowns a hill above the Onomichi waterway and serves as Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage station #9....
Jōdo-ji (浄土寺)
Matsuyama, Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan
Temple 49 of the Shikoku henro stands in low hills south of Matsuyama, weathered and quiet beside its busier neighbours....
Jōraku-ji (常楽寺)
Chichibu, Japan
Jōraku-ji, eleventh station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage, was the route's only Tendai temple through the Edo period before fire and Meiji-era reform reshaped it....
Jōraku-ji (常楽寺)
Tokushima, Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan
Jōraku-ji is the only temple of the Shikoku 88 dedicated to Miroku Bosatsu, the future Buddha....
Jōrin-ji (定林寺)
Chichibu, Japan
Jōrin-ji, seventeenth station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage, is a small Sōtō Zen temple founded as an act of warrior repentance....
Jōruri-ji (浄瑠璃寺)
Matsuyama, Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan
Jōruri-ji is the forty-sixth temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage and the first of eight in the Matsuyama cluster....
Jōsen-ji (常泉寺)
Chichibu, Japan
Jōsen-ji is the third station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage in Saitama, Japan....
Jūraku-ji (十楽寺)
Awa, Awa, Tokushima, Japan
Jūraku-ji is Temple 7 of the Shikoku 88, in Awa, Tokushima. The 'Temple of Ten Joys' offers two specialized intercessions: an eye-healing Jizō beside the Hondō and a row...
Kabusan-ji
Japan
Kabusan-ji is a Tendai mountain temple in the hills north of Takatsuki, traditionally founded by En no Gyōja in 697 CE and held to be the place where Bishamonten was first...
Kagaku-ji
Japan
Banshū Akō Taiunzan Kagaku-ji is the Asano clan's family temple in Akō, founded in 1645 and made permanent home of Akō's memorial culture by the 1701–1703 vendetta of the...
Kakuman-ji
Japan
Kakuman-ji is one of the few Tendai Shinsei-shū temples outside the school's Sakamoto heartland near Mount Hiei....
Kakurin-ji
Japan
Totasan Kakurin-ji in Kakogawa shelters two National Treasure halls — a 1112 Taishi-dō and a 1397 Main Hall whose three-style synthesis is rare in Japan....
Kakurin-ji (鶴林寺)
Katsuura, Katsuura, Tokushima, Japan
Kakurin-ji, Temple 20 of the Shikoku 88, sits high on Mount Washinō in Katsuura....
Kami Daigo-ji (醍醐寺)
Fushimi-ku, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
Kami Daigo-ji is station 11 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Shingon-shū Daigo-ha temple in Kyoto dedicated to Juntei Kannon....
Kanjizai-ji (観自在寺)
Ainan, Ainan, Ehime, Japan
Kanjizai-ji is the fortieth stop on the Shikoku 88 — the first temple of the Ehime (Iyo) section, marking the pilgrim's transition from Tosa's discipline of asceticism...
Kannō-ji
Japan
Kannō-ji stands on the slope of Kabutoyama in Nishinomiya, holding one of Japan's three foremost Nyoirin Kannon images — a Heian-period figure carved by Kūkai in 830 from...
Kannon-in
Tottori, Japan
Kannon-in in Tottori, the 32nd station of the Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, was founded in 1632 as the Tottori-Ikeda clan's domain temple....
Kannon-in (観音院)
Ogano, Japan
Kannon-in — Shūkutsu-san Kannon-in — is the 31st station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage and the most physically demanding stop on the route....
Kannon-ji (観音寺)
Chichibu, Japan
Kannon-ji is the twenty-first station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage, a Shingon Buzan-ha temple in central Chichibu locally known as Yano-dō ('Arrow Hall')....
Kannon-ji (観音寺)
Kan'onji, Kan'onji, Kagawa, Japan
Kannon-ji shares its precinct on Mt. Kotohiki with Jinne-in at Temple 68, but the two temples have separate histories and separate identities....
Kannon-ji (観音寺)
Tokushima, Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan
Kannon-ji sits in a quiet residential street in Tokushima City, where the bell tower gate marks an unexpected threshold from ordinary domestic life into a small sacred...
Kannonshō-ji (観音正寺)
Ōmihachiman, Ōmihachiman, Shiga, Japan
Kannonshō-ji is station 32 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Tendai Buddhism temple in Shiga dedicated to Senju Kannon....
Kanshin-ji
Japan
Kanshin-ji holds one of the rare Japanese pairings where both the main hall and its principal image are National Treasures: the Heian-period Kondō and a seated Nyoirin...
Kanyō-ji
Shunan, Japan
Kanyō-ji — Rokuon-zan Kanyō-ji — sits in the highland Kano basin of northern Shunan, Yamaguchi Prefecture....
Kasamori-ji (笠森寺)
Chōnan, Japan
Kasamori-ji is the 31st station of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho — a Tendai temple in the forested hills of Chōnan, Chiba....
Kashima Shrine
Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
For over two millennia, Kashima Shrine has enshrined Takemikazuchi, the god of thunder and martial power born from the blood of Izanagi's sword....
Katori Shrine
Katori, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Katori Shrine enshrines Futsunushi, the deity of swords and victory who pacified Japan for the heavenly lineage....
Katsuō-ji (勝尾寺)
Minoh, Minoh, Osaka, Japan
Katsuō-ji is station 23 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Kōyasan Shingon-shū temple in Osaka dedicated to Senju Kannon....
Kegon-ji (華厳寺)
Ibigawa, Ibigawa, Gifu, Japan
Kegon-ji is station 33 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Tendai Buddhism temple in Gifu dedicated to Jūichimen Kannon....
Ki-mii-dera (紀三井寺)
Sa, Sa, Wakayama, Japan
Ki-mii-dera is station 2 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Kuze Kannon-shū temple in Wakayama dedicated to Jūichimen Kannon....
Showing 97-144 of 345 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 345 sites organized by region, tradition, and site type.
- Which traditions are represented in Japan?
- The most represented traditions include Buddhism, Shinto, Jomon, Zoku-Jomon, Nature Worship, Rinzai Zen 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.