Route guide
Buddhist pilgrimage routes in Japan
Japan's Buddhist circuits thread temples into long, legible journeys. The Kannon pilgrimages and the Shikoku henro anchor the route family.
Circuits in the atlas
6 circuits currently published. Each card opens the full route page.
Kantō
Bandō Sanjūsankasho Pilgrimage
Thirty-three temples to Kannon across the eastern plain, a circuit of compassion shaped by twelfth-century warriors and walked still.
33 of 33 stations published
Shikoku
Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage
Eighty-eight temples around an island, a circuit walked beside Kūkai across thirteen centuries.
88 of 88 stations published
Kansai
Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage
The oldest Kannon circuit in Japan — thirty-three temples across western Honshu, walked since the eighth century.
36 of 33 stations published
Kansai
New Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage
A modern Kansai Kannon circuit organized in 1932 to make the old route walkable for working pilgrims.
38 of 33 stations published
Kantō
Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage
Thirty-four temples in a single Saitama valley — the third leg that makes the Hyakkasho complete.
34 of 34 stations published
Chūgoku
Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage
A modern Kannon circuit across western Honshu, established in 1981 to honor temples that lay outside the great medieval routes.
29 of 33 stations published