Country guide
Japan
Japan's sacred geography layers Shinto shrine landscapes, Buddhist temple networks, mountain ascetic practice, island pilgrimage, and urban devotional sites.
508 sacred sites across 43 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.
Buddhism · Shikoku
Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage
四国八十八ヶ所霊場
Eighty-eight temples around an island, a circuit walked beside Kūkai across thirteen centuries.
88 mapped places in Japan · 88-station pilgrimage
Buddhism · Kansai
New Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage
新西国三十三所
A modern Kansai Kannon circuit organized in 1932 to make the old route walkable for working pilgrims.
38 mapped places in Japan · 33 numbered stations + auxiliary places
Buddhism · Kansai
Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage
西国三十三所
The oldest Kannon circuit in Japan — thirty-three temples across western Honshu, walked since the eighth century.
36 mapped places in Japan · 33 numbered stations + auxiliary places
Buddhism · Kantō
Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage
秩父三十四観音霊場
Thirty-four temples in a single Saitama valley — the third leg that makes the Hyakkasho complete.
34 mapped places in Japan · 34-station pilgrimage
Buddhism · Kantō
Bandō Sanjūsankasho Pilgrimage
坂東三十三観音霊場
Thirty-three temples to Kannon across the eastern plain, a circuit of compassion shaped by twelfth-century warriors and walked still.
33 mapped places in Japan · 33-station pilgrimage
Buddhism · Chūgoku
Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage
中国三十三観音霊場
A modern Kannon circuit across western Honshu, established in 1981 to honor temples that lay outside the great medieval routes.
29 mapped places in Japan · 33-station pilgrimage
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Traditions
Physical forms
Dates connected to Japan
Upcoming festivals, feast days, and pilgrimages tied to Japan. Add any to your calendar, or see the full observance calendar.
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Kamiari-sai (Festival of the Gods)
Nov 29 – Sun, Dec 6, 2026Festival
Izumo Taisha (Izumo Grand Shrine)
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Related Japan guides
Showing 193-240 of 508 sites in this country guide
Kannonshō-ji
Ōmihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
Kannonshō-ji is station 32 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Tendai Buddhism temple in Shiga dedicated to Senju Kannon....
Kanshin-ji
Osaka Prefecture, 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, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
Kanyō-ji — Rokuon-zan Kanyō-ji — sits in the highland Kano basin of northern Shunan, Yamaguchi Prefecture....
Karasumori Shrine
Minato City, Tokyo, Japan
Karasumori Shrine (烏森神社) is an active Shinto sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference...
Kasamori-ji
Chōnan, Chiba Prefecture, 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....
Kasuga Taisha
Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan
Kasuga Taisha, stands in Nara. At Kasuga Taisha, Shinto guides custody. Prayer at Kasuga Taisha addresses Takemikazuchi, Futsunushi, Amenokoyane, and Himegami....
Kasuga Village and Sacred Places in Hirado
Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
Kasuga Village and Sacred Places in Hirado, stands in Hirado. At Kasuga Village and Sacred Places in Hirado, Hidden Christian tradition within a Shinto-Buddhist landscape...
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
Minoh, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
Katsuō-ji is station 23 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Kōyasan Shingon-shū temple in Osaka dedicated to Senju Kannon....
Kegon-ji
Ibigawa, Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Kegon-ji is station 33 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Tendai Buddhism temple in Gifu dedicated to Jūichimen Kannon....
Kencho-ji
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Kencho-ji, stands in Kamakura. At Kencho-ji, Rinzai Zen Buddhism, Kenchō-ji school guides custody....
Kennin-ji
Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Zen discipline and tea memory in the streets behind Gion. Kennin-ji remains an active Rinzai Zen Buddhism, Kennin-ji school temple....
Ki-mii-dera
Sa, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
Ki-mii-dera is station 2 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Kuze Kannon-shū temple in Wakayama dedicated to Jūichimen Kannon....
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
Saijō, Ehime Prefecture, 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
Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, 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
Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Kinshō-ji is the fourth station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage in Saitama, Japan....
Kirihata-ji
Awa, Tokushima Prefecture, 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....
Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine
Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan
Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine (北口本宮冨士浅間神社) is the historic northern shrine threshold of the Yoshida ascent, where the old worship route proceeds toward Mount Fuji.
Kitano Tenmangū
Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Learning, memory, and plum blossom before Tenjin. Kitano Tenmangū remains an active Shinto shrine....
Kiyama-ji (Kanji-in)
Maniwa, Okayama Prefecture, 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 Kannon-dō Temple
Taito City, Tokyo, Japan
Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple (清水観音堂) is an active Tendai Buddhism sacred place in Tokyo....
Kiyomizu-dera
Isumi, Chiba Prefecture, 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
Katō, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
Banshu Kiyomizu-dera is station 25 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Tendai Buddhism temple in Hyogo dedicated to Senju Kannon....
Kiyomizu-dera (Osaka)
Osaka Prefecture, 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, Shimane Prefecture, 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 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
Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
Kiyotaki-ji is the 26th Bandō station, a quiet Shingon-Buzan temple on the lower slopes of Mt. Ryūgamine in rural Tsuchiura....
Kiyotaki-ji
Tosa, Kochi Prefecture, 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....
Koami Shrine
Chuo City, Tokyo, Japan
Koami Shrine (小網神社) is an active Shinto sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference evidence,...
Kofuku-ji
Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan
Kofuku-ji, stands in Nara. At Kofuku-ji, Hossō Buddhism guides custody. Prayer at Kofuku-ji addresses Shaka Nyorai, Yakushi Nyorai, Kannon, and the Hossō....
Kōgan-ji (Togenuki Jizō)
Toshima City, Tokyo, Japan
Kōgan-ji (Togenuki Jizō) (とげぬき地蔵尊 高岩寺(曹洞宗 萬頂山)) is an active Soto Buddhism sacred place in Tokyo....
Kōjō-ji
Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan
Kōjō-ji — Chōon-zan Kōjō-ji — sits atop Mt. Chōon ('Tide-Sound Mountain') above Setoda Bay on Ikuchijima....
Kokawa-dera
Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, 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
Hyogo Prefecture, 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
Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, 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
Osaka Prefecture, 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
Muroto, Kochi Prefecture, Japan
Kongōchō-ji crowns a wooded promontory on the western side of Cape Muroto, the second of the Muroto Sanzan triad....
Kongōfuku-ji
Tosashimizu, Kochi Prefecture, 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
Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
Nagusayama Kongōjō-ji in Fukusaki, Hyōgo, traces its founding to 597 CE under the Korean monk Ekan during Empress Suiko's reign....
Konno Hachiman-gu Shrine
3-chōme-5-12 Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Konno Hachiman-gu Shrine (金王八幡宮) is an active Shinto sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or...
Kōnomine-ji
Yasuda, Kochi Prefecture, Japan
Kōnomine-ji rests at 450 metres on Mt. Konomine, often described as the most physically demanding station on the Tosa stretch....
Showing 193-240 of 508 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 508 sites organized by region and tradition.
Which traditions are represented in Japan?
The most represented traditions include Buddhism, Shinto, Shingon Buddhism, Christianity, Tendai Buddhism, Kumano Shinto, Buddhism, and Shugendō.
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.