Discover Japan's Hidden Gems

Explore temples, shrines, castles, parks, and more

Shrine
Tokyo

Kanda Myojin

Akihabara's Guardian Shrine, Where Masakado Sits with Daikoku

A shrine of about 1,300 years' standing, moved to its hill above Akihabara in 1616, with Daikoku,...

Tokyo, Japan
Shrine
Tokyo

Suitengu

Nihonbashi's Safe-Childbirth Shrine, Busiest Every Twelfth Day

Tokyo's best-known shrine for safe childbirth, a minute from Suitengumae Station, rebuilt in 2016...

Tokyo, Japan
Shrine
Tokyo

Nezu Shrine

Seven Edo-Era Buildings, 3,000 Azaleas and a Tunnel of Red Torii

A gongen-style shrine finished in 1706 whose seven main structures are all Important Cultural Pro...

Tokyo, Japan
Shrine
Kyoto

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...

Yawata, Kyoto, Japan
Shrine
Ibaraki

Kasama Inari Shrine

An Inari shrine at the heart of Kasama, with shrine buildings and a shopping approach known for i...

Kasama, Ibaraki, Japan
Shrine World Heritage
Nara

Yoshino Mikumari Shrine

Hideyori's 1604 Shrine to the Water God and Guardian of Children, High on Mount Yoshino

A shrine to the god who shares out the water, in the upper reaches of Mount Yoshino and part of t...

Yoshino, Nara, Japan
Shrine World Heritage
Tochigi

Futarasan Shrine

The Shrine Behind Nikko's Red Shinkyo Bridge, Quieter Than Tosho-gu Next Door

The shrine of Mount Nantai, in the cedars a few minutes west of Tosho-gu, and owner of the vermil...

Nikko, Tochigi, Japan
Shrine World Heritage
Wakayama

Niutsuhime Shrine

The Amano Shrine Whose Goddess, by Tradition, Gave Koyasan to Kukai

The main shrine of old Kii Province, in the quiet Amano basin below Koyasan. By the shrine's trad...

Katsuragi, Wakayama, Japan
Shrine World Heritage
Nara

Yoshimizu Shrine

The Yoshino Shoin Where Yoshitsune Hid, Go-Daigo Held Court and Hideyoshi Came for the Cherries

A small shrine on Mount Yoshino that was Yoshimizu-in, a monks' lodging of Kimpusen-ji, until the...

Yoshino, Nara, Japan
Shrine Hikyo
Kumamoto

Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine

Moss-Covered Lanterns and a Hole Through the Mountain in a Cedar Forest Above Takamori

A small mountain shrine in southern Aso reached by a stone stairway lined with 97 moss-covered la...

Takamori, Kumamoto, Japan
Shrine Hikyo World Heritage
Nara

Tamaki Shrine

A Cedar-Wrapped Mountaintop Shrine at the Far End of Japan's Largest Village

A shrine just below the 1,076-meter summit of Mount Tamaki on the Omine Okugake pilgrimage route,...

Totsukawa, Nara, Japan
Shrine
Nara

Tenkawa Daibenzaiten Shrine

A Benzaiten Shrine for Performers in the Omine Valleys, Where Noh Is Still Staged

A shrine to Benzaiten, goddess of water, eloquence and the performing arts, in the village of Ten...

Tenkawa, Nara, Japan
Shrine World Heritage
Kyoto

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 ...

Uji, Kyoto, Japan
Shrine World Heritage
Mie

Hana-no-Iwaya Shrine

A 45-Metre Rock by the Kumano Sea That the Shrine Calls Izanami's Grave, With No Hall in Front of It

A shrine in Kumano, Mie, with no main hall: what is worshipped is a rock face about 45 metres hig...

Kumano, Mie, Japan
Shrine World Heritage
Nara

Kimpu Shrine

The Shrine at the Top of Yoshino's Okusenbon and the Tower Yoshitsune Is Said to Have Kicked His Way Out Of

A small, old shrine in the cedar woods of Okusenbon, the highest part of Mount Yoshino, to the go...

Yoshino, Nara, Japan