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The First-Timer's Japan Guide

Guides, places, and what's on across Japan, written at street level.

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All Events Places

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

All Events Places

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