Best Temples around Kansai Spot List

The graceful standing statue of Gigeiten is a must-see attraction

The first of 33 temples on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, Seiganto-ji is an ever-popular destination for worshipers

Quietly praying to the rakan statues on the hillsides

Famous for its connection to Honen and it’s beauty in autumn

A temple that has long protected Arima Onsen

A Tendai sect temple with the magnificent natural monument, Yoryu no Matsu

A mortuary temple for the imperial household

The mountain villa of Minamoto no Toru, the model for Hikaru Genji

A temple founded in Higashiyama by Hideyoshi Toyotomi's wife, Nene, to mourn his passing and pray for his soul. The nighttime illuminations in spring, summer and fall are beautiful to see.

A temple of the Nichiren sect on Mt. Ogura in Sagano. It is well-known for ”Hyakunin Isshu” (a collection of 100 poems by 100 different poets). In autumn, the nearby mountains awash with brilliant red leaves.

A grand temple complex established on Mount Koya some 900 years ago

Known for “the evening bell of Mii-dera”, one of the Eight Views of Omi

One of the last temples to prohibit entry to women

A temple associated with Heian-era poet Ariwara no Narihara

The head temple of the Rinzai sect's Tofuku-ji School, which has Japan's largest monastery and oldest San-mon gate. It is known as one of Kyoto's best places to view autumn leaves.

This imposing temple serves as a center for Shugendo asceticism

The scattered fallen leaves in autumn are beautiful

Happiness arrives with the buzzing of bell crickets

Worshipers are charmed by the many flowers and large Kannon statue

Still your heart with the soothing autumn leaves of Kitasaga