Best Temples Spot List

The oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo best known by the Kaminarimon Gate is one of the must-visit places in Tokyo. On Nakamise Street, you can enjoy souvenir shopping and snack-joint hopping.

Shingon Sect Temple in Setagaya, Tokyo. Tamagawa 88 Sacred Sites. Kanto Sacred Site consisting of temples for 33 Bokefuji Kannon Pilgrimage.

This imposing temple serves as a center for Shugendo asceticism

Happiness arrives with the buzzing of bell crickets

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

Zojo-ji is one of the seven Daihonzan (head temples) of Jodo-shu Buddhism and contains many designated Cultural Properties. It is also where the souls of the Tokugawa clan are mourned.

The abbot’s chambers are surrounded by four gardens

This large temple complex boasts a magnificent ancient hall

Shitenno-ji Temple is the oldest state-built Buddhist temple in Japan, established in 593 by Prince Shotoku. The architectural structures seen today are faithful reproductions of the temple's original appearance.

The roads are covered with colorful leaves in autumn

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.”

Blessed with knowledge by Monju

Famous for its tea room, ”Hasso-no-seki”

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

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.

A majestic temple and garden with beautiful Arashiyama in the background

This temple is one of the Three Mountains of the Kanto region for the Chisan sect of Shingon Buddhism and is well-known as a temple to ward off evil. Enjoy the shops in the surrounding streets after attending a Goma Rite (a ceremony in which Goma wood is burned in a fireplace on the Goma platform).

Quietly praying to the rakan statues on the hillsides

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

A soto-zen Buddhist temple, better known as Toyokawa Inari, which had been worshiped by both the mighty warriors of each era and common people of Edo-Tokyo. You can make a pilgrimage to the seven lucky gods and enjoy viewing lit paper lanterns.