Best Temples Spot List

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.

This is a branch temple of the Naritasan Shinshoji Temple on the land of Kawagoe and is famous for its goma-kito (a ritual of consecrated fire) and the flea market on the 28th of every month.

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.

Hozomon Gate houses Nio statues on each side (one called Agyo and the other called Ungyo). The 4.5-meter long giant waraji sandals ward off evil

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

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 spacious Buddhist temple with buildings of historical and cultural value. Kan'ei-ji is easily accessible to the general public and heartily welcomes visitors.

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.

It is a Buddhist temple in Tsukiji. The exterior of the main worship hall is a stone construction in the ancient Indian style, and the interior of the hall is arranged in the traditional Shinshu-sect temple design and layout.

A five-story traditional Japanese building, towering in the lush woods, you are sure to find while walking in Ueno Park. It is a National Important Cultural Property.

The principal object of worship at Ennoji Temple is Enma Daio. It also enshrines the Ten Judges of Hell. You can experience an ancient view of the afterlife here.

A temple with a living, breathing aesthetic sense of the tea ceremony

The Western Paradise of the Buddha Amida’s dazzling dream, a gold space that reflects upon a pond

See “Thunder of the Dragon” during special viewings

The oldest surviving building of Todaiji Temple. All the Buddhist statues stored here are national treasures

Sanehira Jiro Doi is famous for protecting Yoritomo Minamoto from Kagechika Oba’s army after he had lost the Battle of Ishibashiyama. Joganji Temple is the family temple of the Doi clan. The temple grounds contain many sights of historic interest, including Shichikido, a hall which keeps the seven wooden statues depicting Yoritomo and each of his samurai warriors who played an active part in the revival of the Minamoto family, as well as the Doi family’s burial ground (designated as a Kanagawa cultural property). A Chinese juniper tree planted by Sanehira himself (estimated to be 800 years old and designated as a national natural monument) is the largest and oldest in Kanagawa Prefecture, and its straight, vertical trunk is an impressive sight thought to be extremely rare in Japan.

Offer a prayer to Japan's largest Buddha statue in its oldest temple

A tea ceremony sanctuary that started as a gathering of artists

Famous for its national treasure, a statue of Miroku Bosatsu

Nara’s Great Buddha is seated here