Best Shrines Spot List

Known as the shinto shrine related to Yoshida Shoin, a samurai clan member of the Choshu Domain who had enormous influence on the movement to topple the Edo Shogunate during the mid-19th century. Now deified, he has become popular as a god of academic success.

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.

Where the guardian buck and doe are enshrined

Enshrines Japan's top Shinto deity

A shrine built to represent the nation's wish for peace. Yushukan displays relics and wills, and it is worth visiting.

The most sacred of the three Dewa Sanzan

Renowned for its famous Somei spring water and bush clover flowers

A shrine to the south of the imperial palace for gods who offer directional protection

Known for its relation to the Fujiwara clan, this shrine boasts spectacular views of autumn foliage

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

This is a shrine founded on the vast premises surrounded by the mountains of Nikko. It is familiar to people as the god of luck and marital matchmaking.

The centerpiece of the sacred Dewa Sanzan

The head shrine of all the Kasuga-jinja shrines all over Japan, it is located on Mt. Mikasa, which has been treated as a sacred area since ancient times. In 2018, the shrine commemorated its 1,250th anniversary.

Known for its god that brings economic blessings

Pray for good health and matchmaking at this shrine built for subduing an epidemic

The head shrine of Oshu, boasting 1,200 years of history

Famous for its strange festival, the Kurama Fire Festival

The oldest shrine in Kyoto

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

A shinto shrine enshrining Mount Fuji, the symbol of Japan, worshiped by a large number of people.