All countries

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 337-384 of 545 sites in this country guide

Nichirin-ji
Buddhism

Nichirin-ji

Daigo, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

Nichirin-ji sits on the eighth station of Mt. Yamizo, the highest peak in Ibaraki....

Nikkō Tōshō-gū
Shinto

Nikkō Tōshō-gū

Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan

Nikko Toshogu is the mausoleum and shrine of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the warlord who unified Japan and founded a dynasty that ruled for 300 years of peace....

Ninna-ji
UNESCOShingon Buddhism, Omuro school

Ninna-ji

Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Imperial memory and Shingon practice among Omuro’s late cherries. Ninna-ji remains an active Shingon Buddhism, Omuro school temple....

Nishi Hongan-ji
UNESCOJōdo Shinshū Buddhism, Hongwanji-ha

Nishi Hongan-ji

Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

A vast congregational home for hearing the Dharma of Amida. Nishi Hongan-ji remains an active Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism, Hongwanji-ha temple....

Nishiarai Daishi
Buddhism

Nishiarai Daishi

Adachi City, Tokyo, Japan

Nishiarai Daishi (西新井大師 總持寺) is an active Shingon Buddhism sacred place in Tokyo....

Niukanshofu Shrine
UNESCOShinto and Shingon Buddhist sacred-landscape tradition

Niukanshofu Shrine

Kudoyama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan

Niukanshofu Shrine (丹生官省符神社) is the shrine immediately associated with Jison-in at the beginning of the Choishi-michi approach.

Niutsuhime Shrine
UNESCOShinto and Shingon Buddhist sacred-landscape tradition

Niutsuhime Shrine

Katsuragi, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan

Niutsuhime Shrine (丹生都比売神社) is a major shrine of the Kii sacred landscape connected with Koyasan and reached on a documented branch or detour from Choishi-michi.

Nofuku-ji
Buddhism

Nofuku-ji

Hyogo Prefecture, Japan

Nōfuku-ji, founded by Saichō in 805 CE on his return from Tang China, is one of the oldest Tendai temples in the Hyōgo region....

Nogi Shrine
Shinto

Nogi Shrine

Minato City, Tokyo, Japan

Nogi Shrine (乃木神社) is an active Shinto sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference evidence,...

Nosaka-ji
Buddhism

Nosaka-ji

Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

Nosaka-ji, twelfth station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage, is a Rinzai Zen temple of the Nanzen-ji branch formed by the 1741 merger of an older Kannon-dō with...

Obara Jinja Shrine
Shinto

Obara Jinja Shrine

Fukuchiyama, Kyoto, Japan

Obara Jinja in rural Fukuchiyama receives families praying for childbirth. Across the river stands an ubuya, a small thatched structure once used in local birth customs....

Obitoke-dera Temple
Buddhism

Obitoke-dera Temple

Nara, Japan

Obitoke-dera in Nara is known for prayers for conception and safe childbirth. Its belly-band devotion and imperial associations are described by the city’s tourism service....

Ōji Inari Shrine
Shinto

Ōji Inari Shrine

Kita City, Tokyo, Japan

Ōji Inari Shrine (王子稲荷神社) is an active Shinto sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference...

Oji Shrine
Shinto

Oji Shrine

Kita City, Tokyo, Japan

Oji Shrine (王子神社) is an active Shinto sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference evidence,...

Oka-dera
Buddhism

Oka-dera

Asuka, Nara Prefecture, Japan

Oka-dera is station 7 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Shingon-shū Buzan-ha temple in Nara dedicated to Nyoirin Kannon....

Okadera Buddhist Temple, Asuka
Buddhism

Okadera Buddhist Temple, Asuka

Asuka, Nara Prefecture, Japan

In the ancient village of Asuka, Okadera Temple shelters Japan's largest clay statue—an 8th-century Nyoirin Kannon standing 4.85 meters tall....

Okazaki Shrine, Kyoto
Shinto

Okazaki Shrine, Kyoto

Kyoto, Japan

Okazaki Shrine in Kyoto is known for prayers for conception and childbirth. Rabbit figures give the precinct a distinctive visual identity, connected locally with divine...

Okinoshima Island, Japan
Shinto

Okinoshima Island, Japan

Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

In the waters between Japan and Korea lies an island so sacred that women may never set foot on it, men may visit only one day per year after nude ocean purification, and...

Ōkubo-ji
Buddhism

Ōkubo-ji

Sanuki, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan

Ōkubo-ji is the eighty-eighth and final temple of the Shikoku circuit, set in a deep valley at 450 metres between Mt. Yahazu and Mt. Nyotai near the Tokushima border....

Ōkunitama Shrine
Shinto

Ōkunitama Shrine

Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan

Ōkunitama Shrine (大國魂神社) is an active Shinto sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference...

Okunoin
UNESCOKōyasan Shingon Buddhism

Okunoin

Koya, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan

Okunoin, stands in Koya. At Okunoin, Kōyasan Shingon Buddhism guides custody. Prayer at Okunoin addresses Kōbō Daishi Kūkai in eternal meditation....

Ōmi-dō
Buddhism

Ōmi-dō

Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

Ōmi-dō is the 25th Bandō station and the sole institutional Buddhist successor of Tsukuba Daigongen — the syncretic Shinto-Buddhist complex that fused Kannon devotion with...

Omiya Hachiman-gu
Shinto

Omiya Hachiman-gu

Suginami City, Tokyo, Japan

Omiya Hachiman-gu (大宮八幡宮) is an active Shinto sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference...

Ōmori Katsuyama Stone Circle
Shinto

Ōmori Katsuyama Stone Circle

Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan

Three thousand years ago, the Jomon people positioned this stone circle with extraordinary precision: on the shortest day of the year, the setting sun descends directly...

Ongaku-ji
Buddhism

Ongaku-ji

Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

Ongaku-ji is the twenty-third station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage — a Rinzai Zen temple of the Nanzen-ji branch whose name means 'music.' Founded by tradition...

Ono Shrine
Shinto

Ono Shrine

Ichinomiya, Tokyo, Japan

Ono Shrine (武蔵國一之宮小野神社) is an active Shinto sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference...

Ono-Terusaki Shrine
Shinto

Ono-Terusaki Shrine

Taito City, Tokyo, Japan

Ono-Terusaki Shrine (小野照崎神社) is an active Shinto sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference...

Onzan-ji
Buddhism

Onzan-ji

Komatsushima, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan

Onzan-ji, Temple 18 of the Shikoku 88, is the 'Temple of Gratitude.' It stands at the place where Kūkai's mother, Tamayori Gozen, became one of the first women admitted to...

Oshoro stone circle, Otaru, Hokkaido
Indigenous

Oshoro stone circle, Otaru, Hokkaido

Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan

On Hokkaido's coast near Otaru, the Oshoro Stone Circle stands as testimony to the spiritual lives of the Jomon people 3,500 years ago....

Osore-zan Boto-ji
Buddhism

Osore-zan Boto-ji

Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, Japan

Osorezan, the mountain of fear, rises as one of Japan's three most sacred mountains....

Oura Cathedral
UNESCORoman Catholic

Oura Cathedral

Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan

Oura Cathedral, stands in Nagasaki. At Oura Cathedral, Roman Catholicism guides custody....

Ōya-ji
Buddhism

Ōya-ji

Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan

Ōya-ji, station 19 of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho, sits inside a natural rock-shelter overhang of Ōya tuff in Utsunomiya....

Ōyu Stone Circles
Shinto

Ōyu Stone Circles

Kazuno, Akita Prefecture, Japan

On a plateau above the Oyu River in northern Japan, two stone circles have watched the summer solstice sun set along the same axis for 4,000 years....

Rakuhō-ji
Buddhism

Rakuhō-ji

Sakuragawa, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

Rakuhō-ji is the 24th Bandō station, popularly known as Amabiki Kannon — the Rain-Drawing Kannon....

Reiyukai Shakaden Temple
Reiyukai

Reiyukai Shakaden Temple

Minato City, Tokyo, Japan

Reiyukai Shakaden Temple (霊友会釈迦殿) is an active Reiyukai sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or...

Rendai-ji
Buddhism

Rendai-ji

Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan

Rendai-ji crowns Mt. Yuga (270 m) above Kurashiki and serves as Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage station #6....

Rengeō-in (Sanjūsangen-dō)
Tendai Buddhism

Rengeō-in (Sanjūsangen-dō)

Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Compassion multiplied along a hall of one thousand Kannon forms. Rengeō-in (Sanjūsangen-dō) remains an active Tendai Buddhism temple....

Rinnō-ji
Buddhism

Rinnō-ji

Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan

Rinnoji Temple stands as the Buddhist heart of Nikko's sacred landscape, founded in 766 CE by Shodo Shonin....

Rokuharamitsu-ji
Buddhism

Rokuharamitsu-ji

Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Rokuharamitsu-ji is station 17 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a Shingon Buddhism, Kūya nembutsu temple in Kyoto dedicated to Jūichimen Kannon....

Rokuon-ji (Kinkaku-ji)
UNESCORinzai Zen Buddhism

Rokuon-ji (Kinkaku-ji)

Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

A Buddhist reliquary of gold, reflection, rebuilding, and Zen custodianship. Rokuon-ji (Kinkaku-ji) remains an active Rinzai Zen Buddhism temple....

Ruri-ji
Buddhism

Ruri-ji

Hyogo Prefecture, Japan

Funakoshi-san Nankōbō Ruri-ji is the FINAL station of the New Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage....

Ryoan-ji
Buddhism

Ryoan-ji

Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Ryoan-ji in Kyoto holds the world's most celebrated Zen rock garden. Fifteen stones rest on raked white gravel, arranged so that from any viewing point, one remains hidden....

Ryōzen-ji
Buddhism

Ryōzen-ji

Naruto, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan

Ryōzen-ji is Temple 1 of the Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage in Naruto, Tokushima. Pilgrims begin their 1,200-kilometer circuit here, buying white robes, conical hats, and...

Ryūseki-ji
Buddhism

Ryūseki-ji

Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

Ryūseki-ji is the nineteenth station of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage, a Sōtō Zen temple whose hall sits not on a foundation but on a single mass of conglomerate...

Ryusen-ji Temple (Meguro Fudoson)
Buddhism

Ryusen-ji Temple (Meguro Fudoson)

Meguro City, Tokyo, Japan

Ryusen-ji Temple (Meguro Fudoson) (目黒不動尊 瀧泉寺) is an active Japanese Buddhism sacred place in Tokyo....

Ryūshō-in
Buddhism

Ryūshō-in

Narita, Chiba Prefecture, Japan

Ryūshō-in — known locally as Namegawa Kannon — is the 28th station of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage, a Tendai temple set among rice fields outside Narita....

Ryuukou-ji
Buddhism

Ryuukou-ji

Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture, Japan

Ryūkō-ji is the forty-first temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage and one of its most visible cases of shinbutsu-shūgō, the older Japanese practice of holding kami and Buddha...

Ryūzō-ji
Buddhism

Ryūzō-ji

Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan

Ryūzō-ji — Takitōzan Ryūzō-ji — is regarded as the oldest temple in Yamaguchi City, traditionally founded in 698 by En no Gyōja and 741 by Gyōki....

Showing 337-384 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.