Shrines, museums, parks, and the spots in between, with the access details worked out.
Shinto shrine dedicated to Hachiman, god of war and samurai patron, hosting an annual August festival featuring traditional taiko drums and horseback archery.
Morioka · IwateShrine dedicated to Emperor Jimmu and ancestral deities, believed to occupy the site of the emperor's ancient palace before his legendary eastern expedition.
MiyazakiShinto shrine dedicated to Sozen, an Edo-period samurai warrior, established in the early eighteenth century and surrounded by a serene garden.
Takizawa · IwateShrine occupying an entire 1.5-kilometre island, dedicated to deities including the god of navigation and ancestors of Emperor Jimmu.
MiyazakiShrine founded as guardian deity of the Kamakura shogunate, hosting significant festivals including horseback archery and sumo wrestling traditions.
Kamakura · KanagawaMountain shrine at 1,925 meters dedicated to the Shinto deity of mountains, regarded as sacred since the Jōmon period and steeped in tengu folklore.
Chino · NaganoShrine dedicated to three protective deities founded 1,200 years ago as a guardian of the Hitoyoshi-Kuma basin and Mount Aso region.
Hitoyoshi · KumamotoBelieved to have been founded in 660 BCE, this ancient shrine in the Kanto region is dedicated to a patron deity of martial arts and historic swordsman school.
Kashima · IbarakiOne of Japan's oldest and most revered Shinto shrines, dedicated to Ōkuninushi no Ōkami, venerated as the deity of nation-building, agriculture, and relationships.
Izumo · ShimaneA Shinto shrine in Takayama dedicated to Sanno Gongen and serving as the focal point of the Takayama Spring Festival, one of Japan's most beautiful festivals.
Takayama · GifuA shrine near Toyama Port dedicated to Takeminakata no Mikoto, with additional enshrinements of Amaterasu Omikami, Oyamakui no Kami, and Daikoku.
ToyamaA Tenman-gu Shrine in Yamaguchi City founded in 1373, it enshrines Sugawara no Michizane and was relocated in 1618 by the Mōri clan.
YamaguchiThis 2,000-year-old Shinto shrine in Chichibu is known for its 19th century wooden main building with a thatched roof and December Night Festival.
Chichibu · SaitamaA highly revered Nagoya shrine established during Emperor Keikō's reign, it houses the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, one of the three symbols of the Imperial throne.
Nagoya · AichiShrine honoring Fujiwara Ason Nijo Tamefuyuki, a court noble who died in 1335 during the Battle of Hakone, and son of the waka poet Nijō Tameyo.
Susono · ShizuokaInari shrine for prosperity, founded 940 and notably surviving a devastating 1657 fire, tucked among office buildings near Shimbashi Station.
TokyoWomen's shrine dedicated to matchmaking and marital harmony, paired with a counterpart 2 kilometers away, sacred to traditional fertility worship.
Kofu · YamanashiShinto shrine established 1617 to enshrine Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun who ended the Sengoku period and founded 260 years of Edo peace.
Nikko · Tochigi
