Best Temples Spot List

A mortuary temple for the imperial household

A massive triple gate welcomes you to the head temple for the Obaku sect of Zen Buddhism

Tadao Ando designed this temple's main hall

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).

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

Famous for its majestic, moss-covered garden

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

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 Zen temple associated with warlord Date Masamune. Visit the main hall, which is a designated national treasure, and the architectural masterpiece that is the Kuri (kitchen building).

Established by Emperor Shirakawa during the Heian Period, the temple's name derives from the ingo (posthumous Buddhist name) of Yoshiakira Ashikaga, the second shogun of the Muromachi bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun). While exploring the precinct, you'll find the graves of Yoshiakira and Masatsura Kusunoki, the busho (military commander) of Nancho (Southern Court) located next to each other. Masatsura was much respected by Yoshiakira even though he was an enemy general. During autumn, the maple leaves turn a striking red (visitors are not allowed to bring in a tripod stand or a unipod).

This is an old temple that is said to have been built in the Kamakura period (1192 to 1333). During the Edo period (1603 to 1868), it became known for the tomi-kuji lottery and was called Edo-santomi (three shrines selling lotteries).

A soaring five-story pagoda at Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa with magnificent nighttime illumination.

This is a historically valuable temple that has National Treasures within its magnificent scenery that makes good use of nature. Zazen seated meditation meetings are held on weekends.

A vault of many national cultural artifacts from the Nara period

Famous for the Great Buddha of Kamakura which weighs 121 tonnes, Kotoku-in is a Buddhist temple of the Jodo-shu sect.

The fierce-eyed Fudo Myo-o (Acala) statue, this Buddhist temple's main object of worship, is really astounding. The backdrop of beautiful red maple leaves is also impressive.

Surrounded by nature and visited by many people, Bentendo Temple rises from the center of Shinobazu Pond in Ueno Park.

It is the Buddhist temple which is said to be the origin of maneki-neko or a luck-inviting cat figurine, beckoning with its right front paw. In its temple grounds, a number of historical assets still remain.

Main priests' residence of Senso-ji complex where the Three Buddha Statues of Amitabha are enshrined. The temple also houses ancestral tablets of Tokugawa Shoguns.

A temple of flowers, with a circuit-style garden