Shrines in Japan | Hey Japan!

Shinto shrines are sacred spaces dedicated to the kami, the gods and spirits of Japan's indigenous religion. Marked by their distinctive torii gates, they range from tiny roadside altars to vast forested complexes at the heart of Japanese life.

What are the most famous shrines in Japan?

Fushimi Inari-taisha in Kyoto, with its thousands of vermilion torii gates, Meiji Jingu in Tokyo, and Izumo Taisha are among Japan's most revered and visited shrines.

What is the difference between a shrine and a temple?

Shrines (jinja) are Shinto and honor kami, marked by torii gates. Temples (tera) are Buddhist and house statues of the Buddha. Many Japanese visit both, and the two traditions often sit side by side.

How do you visit a Shinto shrine?

Bow at the torii gate, cleanse your hands and mouth at the water basin, then at the offering hall toss a coin, bow twice, clap twice, make a wish, and bow once more.

Festival

Morioka Fall Festival

One of Iwate's most enduring celebrations, this autumn festival originated as prayers for harvest, now featuring ornate floats and traditional parades.

14–16 Sep 2026Iwate · Tohoku

Festival

Kuji Autumn Festival

This over 650-year-old festival in a northern mountain town expresses gratitude for the harvest while praying for protection from disaster and the arrival of good fortune.

17–20 Sep 2026Iwate · Tohoku

Festival

Okuma Kabuto Festival

Nanao's festival honors samurai heritage through a dramatic parade of locals dressed in full armor and helmets, accompanied by traditional music and dance performances.

Shinto shrines are sacred spaces dedicated to the kami, the gods and spirits of Japan's indigenous religion. Marked by their distinctive torii gates, they range from tiny roadside altars to vast forested complexes at the heart of Japanese life.

What are the most famous shrines in Japan?

Fushimi Inari-taisha in Kyoto, with its thousands of vermilion torii gates, Meiji Jingu in Tokyo, and Izumo Taisha are among Japan's most revered and visited shrines.

What is the difference between a shrine and a temple?

Shrines (jinja) are Shinto and honor kami, marked by torii gates. Temples (tera) are Buddhist and house statues of the Buddha. Many Japanese visit both, and the two traditions often sit side by side.

How do you visit a Shinto shrine?

Bow at the torii gate, cleanse your hands and mouth at the water basin, then at the offering hall toss a coin, bow twice, clap twice, make a wish, and bow once more.

Festival

Morioka Fall Festival

One of Iwate's most enduring celebrations, this autumn festival originated as prayers for harvest, now featuring ornate floats and traditional parades.

14–16 Sep 2026Iwate · Tohoku

Festival

Kuji Autumn Festival

This over 650-year-old festival in a northern mountain town expresses gratitude for the harvest while praying for protection from disaster and the arrival of good fortune.

17–20 Sep 2026Iwate · Tohoku

Festival

Okuma Kabuto Festival

Nanao's festival honors samurai heritage through a dramatic parade of locals dressed in full armor and helmets, accompanied by traditional music and dance performances.

20 Sep 2026

Ishikawa · Chubu

Festival

Dontosai Festival

An annual winter ritual in Sendai features the ceremonial burning of New Year decorations followed by a sacred pilgrimage procession in traditional attire.

14 Jan 2027Miyagi · Tohoku

Festival

Uesugi Snow Lantern Festival

A two-day winter festival in snowy Yonezawa transforming Matsugasaki Park into a landscape of 300 snow lanterns and 3,000 snow lamps lit by candlelight.

14–15 Feb 2027Yamagata · Tohoku

Festival

Hifuri Shinji Fire Swinging Ritual

Each spring at Aso Shrine, priests perform the Hifuri Shinji fire-swinging ritual, a mesmerizing ceremony rooted in ancient agricultural tradition.

23 Mar 2027Kumamoto · Kyushu

Festival

Kanamara Matsuri "Festival of the Steel Phallus"

An annual Shinto festival at Kanayama Shrine in Kawasaki featuring distinctive phallic imagery in decorations and parades while raising funds for HIV research.

5 Apr 2027Kanagawa · Kanto

Festival

Nagano Gion Festival

The Nagano Gion Festival celebrates Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the deity of storms and protection, through mikoshi processions at Yasaka Shrine near historic Zenkoji temple.

6 Jun 2027Nagano · Chubu

Festival

Abare Festival

Illuminated lanterns parade through coastal Ushitsu in a celebration rooted in legend, featuring frenzied rituals to honor spiritual protection from epidemics.

3–4 Jul 2027Ishikawa · Chubu

Festival

Koiji Fire Festival

Coastal festival where young men shoulder ornate floats representing lovers and wade into the sea before Benten Island as fireworks burst overhead and ceremonial fires illuminate.

19 Jul 2027Ishikawa · Chubu

Festival

Moka Summer Festival

Moka Summer Festival honors Kojin, the god of fire and hearth, with over 20 mikoshi and festival floats paraded through the city during a three-day summer celebration.

24–26 Jul 2027Tochigi · Kanto

Festival

Hanamaki Festival

This centuries-old festival features over 100 mikoshi shrines and floats, with the Shishi-Odori deer dance and sacred Kagura-Gongenmai performance.

11–13 Sep 2027Iwate · Tohoku

Shrine

Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha

A shrine at the foot of Mount Fuji that worships the mountain itself, and the head of more than 1,300 Sengen shrines across Japan.

Fujinomiya · Shizuoka

Shrine

Shirahige Shrine

A shrine on the western shore of Lake Biwa with a torii standing in the water, dedicated to Sarutahiko and known as a shrine of long life.

Takashima · Shiga

Shrine

Yuge Shrine

A shrine on Yuge Island in the Inland Sea, founded by a branch of the Mononobe clan to their ancestor, with a pine grove and a shallow beach below it.

Kamijima · Ehime

Shrine

Suwa Shrine

The tutelary shrine of Nagasaki, re-established in 1625 after the city had been church land, and home of the Kunchi festival.

Nagasaki

Shrine

Kunikatanushi Shrine

A shrine at the centre of the island of Iki, founded in 811, to the small god Sukunahikona and to Sugawara no Michizane.

Iki · Nagasaki

Shrine

Usa Shrine

The head shrine of the forty thousand Hachiman shrines, founded at Usa in 725, with three halls that are a National Treasure.

Usa · Oita

Shrine

Amano Iwato Shrine

A shrine at Takachiho that worships the cave where the sun goddess is said to have hidden, leaving the world in darkness.

Miyazaki

Shrine

Kirishima Shrine

A shrine below the peak of Takachiho in Kagoshima, its vermilion halls of 1715 made a National Treasure in 2022.

Kirishima · Kagoshima

Shrine

Udo Jingu

A shrine on the coast of Miyazaki whose vermilion hall stands inside a sea cave, with a rock said to have nursed the god born there.

Nichinan · Miyazaki

Shrine

Hinomisaki Shrine

Two shrines on one site at the western tip of the Shimane Peninsula, rebuilt in the 1630s and holding a National Treasure suit of armour.

Izumo · Shimane

Shrine

Sada Shrine

Sada Shrine near Matsue: a rare sanctuary of three halls side by side, the gods gathering each November to remember Izanami, and the UNESCO-listed Sada Shinno dance.

Matsue · Shimane

Shrine

Mankusen Shrine

Mankusen Shrine in Izumo is said to be the last stop for the gods of Japan before they return home.

Izumo · Shimane

Shrine

Kumano Taisha Shrine

One of three major Kumano shrines in Japan, Kumano Taisha was established in 806 and is known as the Ise Shrine of the North for its significance.

Nanyo · Yamagata

Shrine

Uto Shrine

Guardian shrine of Aomori dedicated to the Three Goddesses of Munakata, featuring grounds with a sacred spring and historic remains including haiku stones by Matsuo Basho.

Aomori

Shrine

Jozankei Shrine

A Shinto shrine in Sapporo's Jozankei hot spring resort area, dedicated to the god of hot springs and healing, surrounded by nature and autumn foliage.

Sapporo · Hokkaido

Shrine

Kumano Hongu Taisha

Kumano Hongu Taisha, heart of the Kumano Sanzan, traces its origins to before Emperor Jinmu – where legend says three moons descended to found the shrine.

Tanabe · Wakayama

Shrine

Kumano Hayatama Taisha

In Shingu, Wakayama, Kumano Hayatama Taisha stands as one of the three grand Kumano shrines – a "land of rebirth" where pilgrims have sought renewal for centuries.

Shingu · Wakayama

Shrine

Takataki Shrine

A shrine in Ichihara with an unusual tradition: expectant mothers borrow a small purse left unstitched at the base, for an easy birth.

Ichihara · Chiba

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