Shrines in Japan | Hey Japan!

Home
Topics
Shrines

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

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 2027Exact date not confirmed yetSendai · Miyagi

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

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 2027Exact date not confirmed yetYonezawa · Yamagata

Shrine

Motonosumi Shrine

A clifftop shrine on the Nagato coast where 123 red torii, donated over ten years from 1987, run more than 100 metres toward the Sea of Japan.

Nagato · Yamaguchi

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 2027Exact date not confirmed yetAso · Kumamoto

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

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 2027Exact date not confirmed yetKawasaki · Kanagawa

Shrine

Aoba Shrine

Shinto shrine in Sendai founded in 1874 for Date Masamune, the first lord of the Sendai Domain, with six registered cultural property buildings from the 1920s.

Sendai · Miyagi

Festival

Nagano Gion Festival

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

6 Jun 2027Exact date not confirmed yetNagano

Shrine

Fushimi Inari Taisha

The head shrine of Japan's Inari shrines, with about 10,000 torii, offered by worshippers in thanks for wishes granted, lining the paths over Mount Inari.

Kyoto

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 2027Exact date not confirmed yetNoto · Ishikawa

Shrine

Hie Shrine

Shinto shrine in central Toyama known as Sanno-san, given its present grounds by Maeda Toshinaga and home of the Sanno Matsuri spring festival.

Toyama

Festival

Koiji Fire Festival

A coastal festival where young men carry ornate floats representing lovers into the sea before Benten Island, under fireworks and ceremonial fires.

19 Jul 2027Exact date not confirmed yetNoto · Ishikawa

Shrine

Heisenji Hakusan Jinja

Shinto shrine founded in 717 by the monk Taicho, long the temple Heisenji, with moss-covered grounds and a garden that is a Place of Scenic Beauty.

Katsuyama · Fukui

Festival

Moka Summer Festival

Moka Summer Festival honors Kojin, god of fire and hearth, with over 20 mikoshi and festival floats paraded through the city over three days in summer.

24–26 Jul 2027Exact date not confirmed yetMoka · Tochigi

Shrine

Inage Shrine

An old shrine in central Kawasaki with a sacred ginkgo thought to be 1,000 years old, dedicated to victory and harmony and home to the Kawasaki Sanno Festival.

Kawasaki · Kanagawa

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 2027Exact date not confirmed yetHanamaki · Iwate

Shrine

Takataki Shrine

A shrine in Ichihara for safe childbirth, known for its bottomless bag, worn around the belly by expectant mothers together with a safe-delivery charm.

Ichihara · Chiba

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

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 2027Exact date not confirmed yetSendai · Miyagi

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

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 2027Exact date not confirmed yetYonezawa · Yamagata

Shrine

Motonosumi Shrine

A clifftop shrine on the Nagato coast where 123 red torii, donated over ten years from 1987, run more than 100 metres toward the Sea of Japan.

Nagato · Yamaguchi

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 2027Exact date not confirmed yetAso · Kumamoto

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

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 2027Exact date not confirmed yetKawasaki · Kanagawa

Shrine

Aoba Shrine

Shinto shrine in Sendai founded in 1874 for Date Masamune, the first lord of the Sendai Domain, with six registered cultural property buildings from the 1920s.

Sendai · Miyagi

Festival

Nagano Gion Festival

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

6 Jun 2027Exact date not confirmed yetNagano

Shrine

Fushimi Inari Taisha

The head shrine of Japan's Inari shrines, with about 10,000 torii, offered by worshippers in thanks for wishes granted, lining the paths over Mount Inari.

Kyoto

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 2027Exact date not confirmed yetNoto · Ishikawa

Shrine

Hie Shrine

Shinto shrine in central Toyama known as Sanno-san, given its present grounds by Maeda Toshinaga and home of the Sanno Matsuri spring festival.

Toyama

Festival

Koiji Fire Festival

A coastal festival where young men carry ornate floats representing lovers into the sea before Benten Island, under fireworks and ceremonial fires.

19 Jul 2027Exact date not confirmed yetNoto · Ishikawa

Shrine

Heisenji Hakusan Jinja

Shinto shrine founded in 717 by the monk Taicho, long the temple Heisenji, with moss-covered grounds and a garden that is a Place of Scenic Beauty.

Katsuyama · Fukui

Festival

Moka Summer Festival

Moka Summer Festival honors Kojin, god of fire and hearth, with over 20 mikoshi and festival floats paraded through the city over three days in summer.

24–26 Jul 2027Exact date not confirmed yetMoka · Tochigi

Shrine

Inage Shrine

An old shrine in central Kawasaki with a sacred ginkgo thought to be 1,000 years old, dedicated to victory and harmony and home to the Kawasaki Sanno Festival.

Kawasaki · Kanagawa

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 2027Exact date not confirmed yetHanamaki · Iwate

Shrine

Takataki Shrine

A shrine in Ichihara for safe childbirth, known for its bottomless bag, worn around the belly by expectant mothers together with a safe-delivery charm.

Ichihara · Chiba

Never miss what's on

Results

Results