Best Temples Spot List

Magnificent views await at the end of the 1,015-step climb

Famous for its early blossoming cherry trees, which signify the coming of spring

An ancient temple with a beautiful garden, connected to Murasaki Shibibu

Hasedera or the Hasedera Temple is an old temple with a view of the ocean and the town of Hase in Kamakura. Various flowers bloom in the garden from season to season. Its principal image of worship is one of the largest wooden statues in Japan.

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.

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.”

A mortuary temple for the imperial household

Stroll along the heart-shaped pond in the garden

A thatched hut that stands in lush greenery

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

Himeji’s famous mountain-top temple

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

This Buddhist school was established by the Chinese monk Jianzhen

Occasionally open seasonally for cherry blossom, azalea, and fall leaves viewing

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.

Fallen leaves on the road to the temple invite you to this high-status monzeki temple

The abbot’s chambers are surrounded by four gardens

This temple is the daihonzan (head temple) of the Kencho-ji Temple school of the Rinzai sect and ranks first among the Kamakura Gozan (Kamakura's Five Great Zen Temples). It has a number of national treasures, cultural assets, and historical structures. The Sanmon (three gates) are a must-see.

A beautiful temple like the Pure Land itself that illustrates the prosperity of the Fujiwara regency during the late Heian Period.