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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 241-288 of 545 sites in this country guide

Komakino Stone Circle
Shinto

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
Buddhism

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
Buddhism

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
Buddhism

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)
Buddhism

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
Buddhism

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
Buddhism

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
Buddhism

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
Buddhism

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....

Konji Waterfall
Shingon Buddhism and Fudō devotion

Konji Waterfall

Tokushima, Japan

Konji Waterfall belongs to the religious landscape of Konjiji in Tokushima. Official regional interpretation describes pilgrims purifying themselves at the falls before...

Konno Hachiman-gu Shrine
Shinto

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
Buddhism

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....

Konsen-ji
Buddhism

Konsen-ji

Itano, Tokushima Prefecture, 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
Buddhism

Konzō-ji

Zentsūji, Kagawa Prefecture, 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
Buddhism

Kōon-ji

Saijō, Ehime Prefecture, Japan

Kōon-ji is the 61st fudasho on the Shikoku 88 and the head temple of the Shingon-shū Goki-ha sub-school....

Kōryū-ji
Shingon Buddhism

Kōryū-ji

Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Miroku’s poised stillness within one of Kyoto’s earliest temples. Kōryū-ji remains an active Shingon Buddhism temple....

Kotohira shrine, Kotohira, Japan
Shinto

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
Buddhism

Kōyama-ji

Zentsūji, Kagawa Prefecture, 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...

Koyasan Tokyo Betsuin
Buddhism

Koyasan Tokyo Betsuin

港区 Minato City, Tokyo, Japan

Koyasan Tokyo Betsuin (高野山 東京別院) is an active Shingon Buddhism sacred place in Tokyo....

Koyasu Kannonji, Suzuka
Shingon

Koyasu Kannonji, Suzuka

Suzuka, Japan

Koyasu Kannonji in Suzuka is a Shingon Buddhist temple whose White-Robed Kannon is associated with prayers for childbirth....

Koyasu Shrine
Shinto

Koyasu Shrine

Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan

Koyasu Shrine (子安神社) is an active Shinto sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference...

Kōzan-ji
Buddhism

Kōzan-ji

Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, 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....

Kōzan-ji (Kyoto)
UNESCOShingon Buddhism

Kōzan-ji (Kyoto)

Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Myoe’s mountain discipline above the cedar paths of Toganoo. Kōzan-ji (Kyoto) remains an active Shingon Buddhism temple....

Kōzō-ji
Buddhism

Kōzō-ji

Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan

Kōzō-ji — known as Takakura Kannon — is the 30th station of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho, set in the wooded inland hills of Kisarazu, Chiba....

Kuhonbutsu Joshin-ji Temple
Buddhism

Kuhonbutsu Joshin-ji Temple

Setagaya City, Tokyo, Japan

Kuhonbutsu Joshin-ji Temple (九品山 唯在念佛院 淨眞寺(浄真寺)) is an active Japanese Buddhism sacred place in Tokyo....

Kumadani-ji
Buddhism

Kumadani-ji

Awa, Tokushima Prefecture, 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
UNESCOShinto

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
UNESCOShinto

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
Shinto

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
Buddhism

Kurama-dera Temple

Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Rising 584 meters above Kyoto's northern edge, Mount Kurama has drawn seekers for over twelve centuries....

Kurume Suitengu
Shinto

Kurume Suitengu

Kurume, Japan

Kurume’s Suitengu is the head shrine of the Suitengu tradition, distinct from the well-known Tokyo shrine....

Kusushi-jinja Shrine
Fuji worship and Shinto

Kusushi-jinja Shrine

Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan

Kusushi-jinja Shrine (久須志神社) is the Sengen shrine at the northern side of Mount Fuji's summit crater, reached near the top of the Yoshida and Subashiri routes.

Kyūshō-ji
Buddhism

Kyūshō-ji

Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, 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
Buddhism

Maegami-ji

Saijō, Ehime Prefecture, 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
Buddhism

Mandara-ji

Zentsūji, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan

Mandara-ji is the ancestral temple of the Saeki clan, into which Kūkai was born....

Mangan-ji
Buddhism

Mangan-ji

Hyogo Prefecture, Japan

Mangan-ji at Kawanishi, Hyōgo, is a Kōyasan Shingon temple founded by imperial decree of Emperor Shōmu in the Nara period....

Mangan-ji
Buddhism

Mangan-ji

Tochigi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan

Izurusan Mangan-ji, station 17 of the Bandō Kannon pilgrimage, sits in a karst valley north of Tochigi City....

Mani-ji
Buddhism

Mani-ji

Tottori, Tottori Prefecture, Japan

Mani-ji is a special temple (tokubetsu reijō) of the Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage on Mt. Mani north of Tottori City....

Manpuku-ji
Ōbaku Zen Buddhism

Manpuku-ji

Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Ming monastic form and Chinese chanting in Japanese Obaku Zen. Manpuku-ji remains an active Ōbaku Zen Buddhism temple....

Marishiten Tokudaiji Temple
Buddhism

Marishiten Tokudaiji Temple

Taito City, Tokyo, Japan

Marishiten Tokudaiji Temple (日蓮宗 妙宣山 徳大寺) is an active Nichiren Buddhism sacred place in Tokyo....

Masuda Iwafune, Asuka

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?...

Matsuchiyama Shoden
Buddhism

Matsuchiyama Shoden

Taito City, Tokyo, Japan

Matsuchiyama Shoden (待乳山 本龍院(待乳山聖天)) is an active Japanese Buddhism sacred place in Tokyo....

Matsunoo-dera
Buddhism

Matsunoo-dera

Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Matsunoo-dera is station 29 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Shingon-shū Daigo-ha temple in Kyoto dedicated to Batō Kannon....

Matsunoo-taisha Shrine
Shinto

Matsunoo-taisha Shrine

Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Mountain water and the kami honored by generations of brewers. Matsunoo-taisha Shrine remains an active Shinto shrine....

Meiji Shrine
Shinto

Meiji Shrine

Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Rising from the heart of Tokyo, Meiji Shrine offers one of the world's most dramatic sacred thresholds....

Meiseki-ji
Buddhism

Meiseki-ji

Seiyo, Ehime Prefecture, Japan

Meiseki-ji is the forty-third temple of the Shikoku 88 and one of the few stops not affiliated with Shingon....

Meoto Iwa
Shinto

Meoto Iwa

Ise, Mie Prefecture, Japan

Two rocks rise from the sea at Futami, joined by a massive shimenawa rope weighing over one ton....

Mii-dera
Buddhism

Mii-dera

Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan

Mii-dera has earned its nickname—the Phoenix Temple—through seven destructions and seven risings....

Showing 241-288 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.