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 145-192 of 345 sites in this country guide
Kibitsu Jinja Shinto Shrine, Okayama
Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan
Kibitsu Jinja preserves the origin story of Momotaro, the Peach Boy. Here Prince Kibitsuhiko defeated the demon Ura seventeen centuries ago, and the demon's severed head...
Kichijō-ji (吉祥寺)
Saijō, Saijō, Ehime, Japan
Kichijō-ji is the 63rd fudasho on the Shikoku 88 and the only temple on the route whose principal image is Bishamonten—Buddhist guardian-king of the north and one of the...
Kifune Shrine
Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Nestled in the forested mountains north of Kyoto, Kifune Shrine has stood for over sixteen centuries as the dwelling place of Kuraokami, the dragon god who governs water....
Kikusui-ji (菊水寺)
Chichibu, Japan
Kikusui-ji — Enmei-zan Kikusui-ji — is the 33rd station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage, a Sōtō Zen temple in the Yoshida district of Chichibu....
Kinshō-ji (金昌寺)
Chichibu, Japan
Kinshō-ji is the fourth station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage in Saitama, Japan....
Kirihata-ji (切幡寺)
Awa, Awa, Tokushima, Japan
Kirihata-ji rises 155 metres above the Yoshino plain on the slope of Mt. Kirihata....
Kirishima Shrine
Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
Kirishima Shrine marks where Japanese civilization began - at least according to Shinto mythology....
Kiyama-ji (Kanji-in)
Maniwa, Japan
Kiyama-ji crowns Mt. Kiyama (430 m) in Maniwa, north of Tsuyama. Founded by Kūkai in 815 CE according to temple tradition, it is a Kōyasan Shingon-shū bekkaku honzan and...
Kiyomizu-dera (Osaka)
Japan
Distinct from the famous Kyoto Kiyomizu-dera (and from the temples of the same name in Hyōgo, Chiba, and Shimane), Osaka's Kiyomizu-dera was revived in 1640 by the priest...
Kiyomizu-dera (Yasugi)
Yasugi, Japan
Kiyomizu-dera in Yasugi, Shimane, is the 28th station of the Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and the foremost Tendai esoteric (taimitsu) training hall in the San'in region....
Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺)
Higashiyama-ku, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan
Kiyomizu-dera is station 16 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Kita-Hossō Buddhism, Saigoku Kannon devotion temple in Kyoto dedicated to Senju Kannon....
Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺)
Katō, Katō, Hyōgo, Japan
Banshu Kiyomizu-dera is station 25 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Tendai Buddhism temple in Hyogo dedicated to Senju Kannon....
Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺)
Isumi, Japan
Otowasan Kiyomizu-dera in Isumi, Chiba, is the 32nd station of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho — a Tendai temple set on Otowa-yama in the forested hills of southern Bōsō....
Kiyomizu-dera Temple
Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
On the forested slopes of Mount Otowa in eastern Kyoto, a vast wooden stage juts out over the valley—built without a single nail, supported by pillars of...
Kiyotaki-ji (清滝寺)
Tosa, Tosa, Kōchi, Japan
Kiyotaki-ji is the thirty-fifth stop on the Shikoku 88, set on a hillside in Tosa City above terraced citrus groves at 137 meters....
Kiyotaki-ji (清滝寺)
Tsuchiura, Japan
Kiyotaki-ji is the 26th Bandō station, a quiet Shingon-Buzan temple on the lower slopes of Mt. Ryūgamine in rural Tsuchiura....
Kōjō-ji
Onomichi, Japan
Kōjō-ji — Chōon-zan Kōjō-ji — sits atop Mt. Chōon ('Tide-Sound Mountain') above Setoda Bay on Ikuchijima....
Kokawa-dera (粉河寺)
Kinokawa, Kinokawa, Wakayama, Japan
Kokawa-dera is station 3 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Tendai Buddhism — Tendai-Kokawa-ha, Katsuragi Shugendō tradition temple in Wakayama dedicated to Senju Kannon....
Komakino Stone Circle
Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan
Four thousand years ago, Jomon communities leveled a hilltop and arranged nearly three thousand stones in a configuration so distinctive that archaeologists named it the...
Komyo-ji
Japan
Gobusan Kōmyō-ji crowns Mt. Gobusan in Katō, Hyōgo — a Kōyasan Shingon temple traced to 594 CE and holding an Eleven-Faced Thousand-Armed Thousand-Eyed Kannon as honzon....
Kōmyō-ji (光明寺)
Hiratsuka, Japan
Kōmyō-ji at Mount Kaname — known to villagers and mothers as Kaname Kannon — preserves a Sacred Kannon said to have been found in the sea by an ama diver in 702 CE....
Kongo-ji
Japan
Founded by Gyōki on Mount Amano in the Tenpyō era and revived in the late Heian period by the monk Akan, Amano-san Kongō-ji became known as Nyonin Kōya — Women's Kōyasan —...
Kongobu-ji Temple (Mt. Koya)
Koya, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
High in the mountains of Wakayama, Kongobu-ji serves as headquarters of Shingon Buddhism, the esoteric tradition Kobo Daishi brought from China in 806 CE....
Kongōchō-ji (金剛頂寺)
Muroto, Muroto, Kōchi, Japan
Kongōchō-ji crowns a wooded promontory on the western side of Cape Muroto, the second of the Muroto Sanzan triad....
Kongōfuku-ji (金剛福寺)
Tosashimizu, Tosashimizu, Kōchi, Japan
Kongōfuku-ji is the thirty-eighth stop on the Shikoku 88, set at the tip of Cape Ashizuri — the southernmost point of Shikoku....
Kongofukuji Temple, Tosashimizu
Tosashimizu, Kochi Prefecture, Japan
At the southernmost tip of Shikoku, where land yields to endless ocean, stands the temple Kobo Daishi founded after sensing the presence of Fudaraku—Kannon's Pure...
Kongojo-ji
Japan
Nagusayama Kongōjō-ji in Fukusaki, Hyōgo, traces its founding to 597 CE under the Korean monk Ekan during Empress Suiko's reign....
Kōnomine-ji (神峰寺)
Yasuda, Yasuda, Kōchi, Japan
Kōnomine-ji rests at 450 metres on Mt. Konomine, often described as the most physically demanding station on the Tosa stretch....
Konsen-ji (金泉寺)
Itano, Itano, Tokushima, Japan
Konsen-ji is Temple 3 of the Shikoku 88, in Itano, Tokushima. Pilgrims peer into a well dug by Kūkai whose water is said to look gold; a clear reflection is read as a sign...
Konzō-ji (金倉寺)
Zentsūji, Zentsūji, Kagawa, Japan
Temple 76 Konzō-ji is the birthplace of Chishō Daishi Enchin (814–891), founder of the Tendai Jimon school and fifth abbot of Enryaku-ji on Mt Hiei....
Kōon-ji (香園寺)
Saijō, Saijō, Ehime, Japan
Kōon-ji is the 61st fudasho on the Shikoku 88 and the head temple of the Shingon-shū Goki-ha sub-school....
Kotohira shrine, Kotohira, Japan
Kotohira, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan
On sacred Mount Zozu rises Japan's most beloved guardian of sailors. For centuries, fishermen and naval crews, merchants and mariners have climbed up to 1,368 stone steps...
Kōyama-ji (甲山寺)
Zentsūji, Zentsūji, Kagawa, Japan
Temple 74 Kōyama-ji stands at the foot of Mt Kōyama in Zentsūji City, where Kūkai is said to have prayed for the success of the Mannoike reservoir repair in 821 — a...
Kōzan-ji
Shimonoseki, Japan
Kōzan-ji — Kinzan Kōzan-ji — in Chōfu, Shimonoseki, holds Japan's oldest dated Zenshūyō ('Zen-style') Buddhist hall: a 1320 Butsuden, designated a National Treasure....
Kōzō-ji (高蔵寺)
Kisarazu, Japan
Kōzō-ji — known as Takakura Kannon — is the 30th station of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho, set in the wooded inland hills of Kisarazu, Chiba....
Kumadani-ji (熊谷寺)
Awa, Awa, Tokushima, Japan
Kumadani-ji is Temple 8 of the Shikoku 88, in Awa, Tokushima. The 1687 Niōmon is one of the largest gates on the entire 88-temple route, designated a Tokushima Cultural...
Kumano Hayatama Taisha
Shingū, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
Kumano Hayatama Taisha stands at the mouth of the Kumano River where it meets the sea, one of three grand shrines that have drawn pilgrims for over a millennium....
Kumano Hongū Taisha
Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
For over a thousand years, every path of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage has led here....
Kumano-Nachi Grand Shrine
Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
One of the three great Kumano shrines, Kumano Nachi Taisha rises on Mt. Nachi above Japan's tallest waterfall....
Kurama-dera Temple
Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Rising 584 meters above Kyoto's northern edge, Mount Kurama has drawn seekers for over twelve centuries....
Kyūshō-ji (久昌寺)
Chichibu, Japan
Kyūshō-ji is the twenty-fifth station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage — a Sōtō Zen temple known by its older nickname Otehan-dera, 'Hand-Seal Temple,' for the legend...
Maegami-ji (前神寺)
Saijō, Saijō, Ehime, Japan
Maegami-ji is the 64th fudasho on the Shikoku 88 and the principal Buddhist anchor of the Mt. Ishizuchi sacred-mountain cult....
Mandara-ji (曼荼羅寺)
Zentsūji, Zentsūji, Kagawa, Japan
Mandara-ji is the ancestral temple of the Saeki clan, into which Kūkai was born....
Mangan-ji
Japan
Mangan-ji at Kawanishi, Hyōgo, is a Kōyasan Shingon temple founded by imperial decree of Emperor Shōmu in the Nara period....
Mangan-ji (満願寺)
Tochigi, Japan
Izurusan Mangan-ji, station 17 of the Bandō Kannon pilgrimage, sits in a karst valley north of Tochigi City....
Mani-ji
Tottori, Japan
Mani-ji is a special temple (tokubetsu reijō) of the Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage on Mt. Mani north of Tottori City....
Masuda Iwafune, Asuka
Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, Japan
Hidden in a bamboo forest near Asuka, an 800-ton carved granite boulder defies explanation. Who carved Masuda Iwafune? Why?...
Matsunoo-dera (松尾寺)
Maizuru, Maizuru, Kyoto, Japan
Matsunoo-dera is station 29 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Shingon-shū Daigo-ha temple in Kyoto dedicated to Batō Kannon....
Showing 145-192 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.