Fushimi Inari Taisha
Shrine of Ten Thousand Torii Gates
Thousands of vermilion torii gates wind up the forested slopes of Mount Inari, creating one of Ja...
© 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Kamigamo Shrine
Kyoto's Oldest Shrine with Sacred Sand Cone Mounds
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Kyoto's oldest Shinto shrines, founded in 678 AD, known f...
Photo: nnh / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Nonomiya Shrine
A Small Shrine in the Bamboo Grove Linked to The Tale of Genji
Small shrine at the bamboo grove entrance. Featured in The Tale of Genji. The black torii (bark-c...
Yasaka Shrine
Heart of Gion and Home of the Gion Matsuri
A Shinto shrine at the heart of Gion, center of the Gion Matsuri festival every July, one of Japa...
Photo: Saigen Jiro / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Atago Shrine
A Mountaintop Fire God Shrine Reached by a Rewarding Hike
Perched atop 924-meter Mt. Atago, this ancient shrine dedicated to the fire deity has protected K...
Heian Shrine
Meiji-Era Shrine with Large Torii and Strolling Garden
A striking Meiji-era shrine featuring one of Japan's largest vermilion torii gates and a celebrat...
Shimogamo Shrine
Ancient World Heritage Shrine in a Primeval Forest
One of Kyoto's oldest shrines (UNESCO World Heritage), located within the Tadasu no Mori primeval...
Kitano Tenmangu
Shrine of Learning Famous for Plum Blossoms and Flea Markets
A major shrine dedicated to the deity of learning and scholarship, celebrated for its 2,000 plum ...
Seimei Shrine
A Pentagram on the Torii Where Kyoto's Court Diviner Lived
A small shrine on busy Horikawa-dori, built in 1007 on the site of the house of Abe no Seimei, th...
Iwashimizu Hachimangu
A National Treasure Shrine on Otokoyama, With a Monument to Edison
A hilltop Hachiman shrine founded in 859, whose ten main buildings became National Treasures in 2...
Ujigami Shrine
Japan's Oldest Shrine Building, in Kyoto Prefecture's Words, Across the River from Byodo-in
A small, free shrine on the east bank of the Uji River whose main hall Kyoto Prefecture lists as ...
Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrine
Crimson Kirishima azaleas line the pond crossing at Nagaoka Tenmangu, a shrine associated with sc...