Temples & Shrines

Izumo-Daijingu-Shrine-Chinkasai-Festival-Kameoka-Kyoto-Japan

Izumo-Daijingū: An Ancient But Beautiful Shrine in Kameoka

If you are after a spiritual place in Kameoka, consider visiting Izumo-Daijingū Shrine (出雲大神宮). The shrine that is tucked in Kyoto‘s beautiful nature has a serene atmosphere. When the weather starts getting colder, the precinct becomes more splendid with different colors in the background.

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Anaoji-TempleReclining-Buddha-Kameoka-Kyoto-Japan

Anao-ji: The Temple Where a Buddha Is Lying In Bed

If you are already bored with ordinary temples and shrines in Kyoto, you might still want to check out Anao-ji Temple (穴太寺) when you visit Kameoka. The Buddha is covered in a Japanese futon! Known as the 21st temple in The 33 Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, Anao-ji, boasting a history of more than 1,300 years, is

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Hiroshima Tōshōgū: Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Shrine in Hiroshima

For a shrine near Hiroshima Station, visit Hiroshima Tōshōgū (広島東照宮). It is less than a 10-minute walk away from the bullet train exit! It is one of the only places in Hiroshima City center with architecture built in the Edo period (1603 – 1867). Furthermore, it is the shrine that enshrined the great samurai, Tokugawa

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Mitaki-dera: The Stunning Temple in Hiroshima’s City Center

Mitaki-dera (三瀧寺 or 三滝寺) is a temple standing in the middle of Mt. Mitaki (三滝山). Throughout the precinct of the temple, there are a couple of mountain streams flowing from the three majestic waterfalls. It might sound like the temple is hard to get to when we say it is in a mountain, but that

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Shirahige Shrine and the Torii Gate in Lake Biwa

You probably all know about the great torii gate standing in the sea in Miyajima/Hiroshima, but did you know you don’t need to travel all the way down south for a similar view? Just north of Kyoto in Shiga Prefecture, Shirahige Shrine (白鬚神社) is another shrine in Japan that has its torii gate in the

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Daitsū-ji: A Temple Filled With Gorgeous Paintings

Daitsū-ji Temple (長浜別院 大通寺) is a branch temple of the Higashi Honganji (東本願寺) in Kyoto, belonging to the Shinshū Ōtani school (真宗大谷派). On the temple’s precinct, there are many Important Cultural Properties, including the Grand Hall relocated from Fushimi Momoyama Castle, a tower gate from Nagahama Castle, a bell from the Nanboku-chō period (1336 –

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Hokoku-Shrine-Nagahama-Shiga-Japan

Hōkoku Shrine: A Must-Visit Spot for Japanese History Buff

A couple of Hōkoku Shrine (豊国神社) enshrines Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Japan, and one of them is in Nagahama. His retainers, Katō Kiyomasa (加藤清正) and Kimura Shigenari (木村重成), are also enshrined here. The citizens of Nagahama erected the shrine to commemorate Hideyoshi’s third anniversary in 1600. But, after the Tokugawa shogunate was established, the shrine was

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Niukawakami Shrine, The Shrine Revered by the Imperial Court

When visiting a Japanese shrine, you must have seen those wooden plates with people’s wishes written on the back, hung on one side of the precinct. If you ever wonder where those wooden plates originated, then visit Niukawakami Shrine (丹生川上神社) in Nara‘s Yoshino District. Furthermore, you get to act like a Shinto priest swinging the

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Tamaki-Shrine-Yoshino-Nara-Japan

Tamaki Shrine – The Shrine that Can only Be Reached if Summonded

Tamaki Shrine (玉置神社) in Totsukawa Village, almost at the summit of Mt. Tamaki (Tamakisan, 玉置山), is the oldest shrine in Japan. The shrine is at an altitude of 1,076 meters and was founded in BC 37 by the imperial court for demon expulsion. In 2004, the shrine, one of the Shugendō’s (修験道) training sites, was registered

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