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

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 2026Iwate · Tohoku

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.

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

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 2026Iwate · Tohoku

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.

19–21 Sep 2026

Iwate · 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 2026Ishikawa · 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

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

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

Keihin Fushimi Inari Shrine

A small, charming Inari shrine in Kawasaki, guarded by 108 stone foxes and ringed with Fuji lava – a postwar branch of Kyoto's Fushimi Inari.

Kawasaki · Kanagawa

Shrine

Kumano Shrine (Kawagoe)

Founded in 1590 in Kawagoe, Kumano Shrine honours the Kumano deities and the yatagarasu crow, drawing visitors seeking fortune, love, and protection.

Kawagoe · Saitama

Shrine

Kumano Taisha

Kumano Taisha, Izumo's "birthplace of fire", holds sacred hikiriusu and hikirigine fire-drills, a startling rice-cake ritual, and Susanoo's comb festival for Princess Inada.

Matsue · Shimane

Shrine

Kumano Nachi Taisha

One of the three grand shrines of Kumano, beside Japan's tallest waterfall – and spiritual home of the Yatagarasu, the three-legged crow on Japan's football crest.

Wakayama

Shrine

Itsukushima Shrine

The floating shrine of Miyajima, built out over a tidal cove, with its great vermilion torii standing in the sea off the sacred island.

Hatsukaichi · Hiroshima

Shrine

Motonosumi Shrine

A clifftop shrine on the Nagato coast where 123 red torii run down to the Sea of Japan, with an offering box perched high on the entrance gate.

Nagato · Yamaguchi

Shrine

Inage Shrine

A thousand-year-old shrine in central Kawasaki dedicated to victory and harmony, and home to the Kawasaki Sanno Festival.

Kawasaki · Kanagawa

Shrine

Hakone Shrine

Hakone Shrine, Motohakone, Hakone, Kanagawa, was founded in 757 on the shores of Lake Ashi and is known for its Heiwa no Torii, a red torii gate standing in the lake.

Hakone · Kanagawa

Shrine

Takeda Shrine

This shrine honors Takeda Shingen, a Sengoku-period general remembered for both military prowess and regional development in the domain he ruled.

Kofu · Yamanashi

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

Yoshida Shrine

Yoshida Shrine in Toyohashi, Aichi, dates to 1124, stood within Yoshida Castle under its lords, and is known as the birthplace of tezutsu hand-held fireworks.

Toyohashi · Aichi

Shrine

Akama Shrine

Shinto shrine honoring Antoku, an emperor who died during the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185, with a gate designed after the legendary underwater palace of the Dragon God.

Shimonoseki · Yamaguchi

Shrine

Maebashi Tōshō-gū

This shrine honors Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder and first military leader of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and was established in 1624.

Maebashi · Gunma

Shrine

Tomioka Hachiman Shrine

Tokyo's largest Hachiman shrine, established in 1627, holds historical significance as the birthplace of Kanjin-zumō, a precursor to modern Grand Sumo.

Tokyo

Temple

Saijo Inari

Saijo Inari is a 1,200-year-old Buddhist temple and one of Japan's three great Inari sites, preserving a rare form of Shinto-Buddhist syncretic worship.

Okayama

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