Best Shrines around Kansai Spot List

The inner sanctuary is the oldest example of Shinto architecture in Japan

Where the guardian buck and doe are enshrined

Renowned for its famous Somei spring water and bush clover flowers

Boasts an amazing stage modeled after a lion mask

The head shrine of all the Tenman-gu shrines in Japan, affectionally called ”Kitano no Tenjin-san.” The shrine is dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane.

Famous for its deity of scholarship

A shrine to visit for breaking bad habits or starting good ones

The head shrine of all the Inari-jinja shrines across Japan. Its approximately 1,000 photogenic torii gates (an archway to a Shinto shrine) attract many visitors.

A shrine affiliated with boars and protection for the lower body

This ancient temple contains the history of the Southern Dynasty

Encounter a god of matchmaking in a busy district

Founded in 1895 for the 1,100th anniversary of the relocation of the capital city to the Heian-kyo, the shrine reproduces the Imperial Palace of the Heian-kyo. It enshrines Emperor Kanmu and Emperor Komei.

Famous for its cherry blossoms and being one of Kyoto’s three Kumano Shrines

A shrine for a popular matchmaking deity and associated with the puppet play “Sonezaki Shinju”

For those who want to succeed like Hideyoshi did

A sacred place connected to Hideyoshi

Formerly Kumano Hayatama Taisha Shrine, this shrine is located on the grounds where Kumano’s three deities descended

The traditional god of learning

Surrounded by the old-growth forest of Tadasu-no-Mori, the shrine has records that date back before Christ. It is also renowned as a spiritual place believed to bring good luck in romance.

Kudo-no-kami, the god of the kitchen, is enshrined here