Best Temples around Kansai Spot List

Featuring a garden created by Motonobu Kano

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

An elegant temple with a Japanese rock garden and wonderful autumn foliage

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

Autumn colors light up the moss garden in this temple's garden of enlightenment

Where the successful Hideyoshi Toyotomi worshipped the three-faced Daikokuten

A Zen temple of the Rinzai Sect of Buddhism, world famous for its traditional rock garden.

A majestic temple and garden with beautiful Arashiyama in the background

A spiritual area surrounding Kobo Daishi’s mausoleum

A temple located in the holy mountain of Kurama in Kyoto. Minamoto no Yoshitsune is said to have trained here, and visitors can feel the vibrant energy of nature and the universe.

An ancient temple supported by common people

The scattered fallen leaves in autumn are beautiful

The historic, symbolic spot of Namba. Always popular with tourists

Famous for a painted fusuma from Tohaku Hasegawa

This large temple complex boasts a magnificent ancient hall

The head temple of the Rinzai sect, known as the highest-ranked Zen temple in Japan.

The main training center for Shingon Esoteric Buddhism with its iconic five-story pagoda, the key landmark of Kyoto's scenery. The temple is known as ”Daishi's temple.”

One of Kyoto's most renowned temples, located on the side of Mt. Otowa in the Higishiyama Range. It has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Famous for its majestic, moss-covered garden

Tadao Ando designed this temple's main hall