The great shrines of Japan

The journey in one line

12 stops in Japan so far. The first rung is 4 of them, and the list keeps growing.

Japan has something like eighty thousand shrines. This is not a list of the most important ones, because that argument has no end. It is twelve places where something about Shinto is easier to see than it is elsewhere. Some are ancient. Ise and Izumo were already old when the earliest chronicles were written. Some are head shrines with tens of thousands of branches: Fushimi Inari for Inari, Usa for Hachiman, Kumano Hongū for Kumano. Some are recent and tell you about the modern state rather than the ancient one. Meiji Jingū was dedicated in 1920 and Heian Jingū in 1895, and both were built to say something about who Japan had just become. Nikkō Tōshō-gū sits slightly apart in the list. It enshrines a shōgun rather than a kami of the old order, and it is carved and gilded where the others are plain. It is here because it shows what happened when political power decided to build a shrine with no budget limit. The list can grow. It does not claim to cover Shinto, and completing it does not mean you have.

Shinto has no founder, no scripture and no creed. What it has is places, and rites attached to them. That makes the buildings and the ground they stand on the primary source rather than an illustration of one. You can read a lot of Japanese history off these twelve. Izumo and Ise hold the two sides of the founding myth. Kasuga is a great family's private shrine that became a public one. Tsurugaoka is a warrior government laying out a capital. Nikkō is a dynasty making a god of its founder. Meiji and Heian are a new state reaching backwards for legitimacy. Itsukushima is a whole island treated as too sacred to build on.

These are spread from Kyushu to the Kanto plain, so nobody does them in one trip. Kyoto and Nara put Fushimi Inari, Heian and Kasuga within easy reach of each other. Ise and Atsuta pair well from Nagoya. Izumo, Usa and Itsukushima are journeys of their own. Most shrine precincts are free. Itsukushima and Nikkō charge admission, and Kasuga, Heian, Atsuta and Tsurugaoka charge for an inner area, a garden or a museum. Early morning is the difference between a quiet shrine and a crowded one at all of them. New Year is the busiest week of the Japanese year at every shrine on this list.

Where it goes

The stops, in order

What a visit means here. A recorded visit means the public precinct of that shrine. The rungs recognise progress through the list. No rung claims that Shinto, or Japan, has been covered.

1. 1

   Ise Jingū

   伊勢神宮

   Ise, Japan

   

   Jingū is the senior shrine of Japan. It is not one building but one hundred and twenty five, centred on Naikū and Gekū. Every twenty years the sanctuaries are rebuilt on the neighbouring site and the sacred objects are carried across, a rite called Shikinen Sengu. The buildings are always new and always the same.

   What counts as a visit

   The public precinct of Naikū or Gekū, as far as the gate in the outermost fence. The inner sanctuaries are never a visit target.

   Access

   Checked 16 September 2026. Free at both sanctuaries. Opening from 05:00, closing between 17:00 and 19:00 by season. A bus links Gekū and Naikū. The sixty third Shikinen Sengu is under way, so parts of the precinct are at work.

   Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

2. 2

   Izumo Taisha

   出雲大社

   Izumo, Shimane, Japan

   

   Properly Izumo Ōyashiro, and probably the oldest shrine in Japan. It is dedicated to Ōkuninushi, who according to the myths handed the land over to Amaterasu's line and received this shrine in return. Medieval records describe a main hall far taller than the present one, and excavated pillars support them.

   What counts as a visit

   The shrine precinct, the great shrine hall approach and the treasure hall.

   Access

   Checked 16 September 2026. Free to enter the precinct, with a fee for the treasure hall. Worshippers here clap four times rather than the usual two. Check the shrine's page for current hours.

   Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

3. 3

   Fushimi Inari Taisha

   伏見稲荷大社

   Kyoto, Japan

   

   Founded in 711 and the head shrine of about thirty thousand Inari shrines across Japan. Inari is the kami of rice, and so of harvest, trade and business. The thousands of vermilion torii that tunnel up Mount Inari were each donated by a person or a company, whose name is painted on the back.

   What counts as a visit

   The main precinct and the torii paths up Mount Inari, including the Okusha and the summit circuit.

   Access

   Checked 16 September 2026. Free, and the mountain paths are open at all hours. The full circuit to the summit takes two to three hours. It is crowded through the middle of the day and empty at dawn.

   Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

4. 4

   Itsukushima Shrine

   嚴島神社

   Miyajima, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, Japan

   

   The shrine on Miyajima, built out over the tidal flat so that at high water the halls and the great torii appear to float. The shrine dates its founding to 593 and the present buildings to Taira no Kiyomori in the twelfth century. The island itself was treated as sacred, which is why the shrine stands on the water rather than the land.

   What counts as a visit

   The shrine buildings and corridors on the published visiting route.

   Access

   Checked 16 September 2026. Open every day of the year with an admission fee and seasonal hours, typically from 06:30. The great torii is reached on foot only at low tide, so check the tide table. A separate visitor tax applies on the ferry.

   Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

5. 5

   Kasuga Taisha

   春日大社

   Nara, Japan

   

   Founded in 768 as the tutelary shrine of the Fujiwara family, in the forest at the edge of Nara. Roughly three thousand stone and bronze lanterns line the approach and hang from the corridors, all of them donated. The shrine was rebuilt every twenty years for centuries. The deer in the park are treated as the shrine's messengers.

   What counts as a visit

   The free outer precinct and approach, and the inner offering hall and botanical garden which charge separately.

   Access

   Checked 16 September 2026. The outer precinct is free. The inner area and the museum have an admission fee and shorter hours. The lanterns are lit twice a year at Mantōrō, in February and August.

   Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

6. 6

   Atsuta Jingū

   熱田神宮

   Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

   

   Second only to Ise in the old ranking, and the shrine that holds Kusanagi no Tsurugi, the sword of the three imperial regalia. The sword is never displayed and has not been seen by the public in any recorded period. Around the halls is an unexpected pocket of old forest in the middle of Nagoya.

   What counts as a visit

   The precinct, the approach through the forest, and the treasure hall.

   Access

   Checked 16 September 2026. The grounds are free and open long hours. The treasure hall charges admission and closes on set days each month. The sacred sword is not on display and never has been.

   Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

7. 7

   Usa Jingū

   宇佐神宮

   Usa, Ōita, Japan

   

   The head shrine of roughly forty thousand Hachiman shrines in Japan, founded in 725 on Kyushu. Hachiman became the protector of warriors, which is how this shrine's branches ended up at the centre of Kamakura and of samurai towns everywhere. Its three hall design, hachiman-zukuri, is named after it.

   What counts as a visit

   The upper and lower shrine precincts and the approach.

   Access

   Checked 16 September 2026. Free to enter the precinct, with a fee for the treasure hall and for special viewings of the main hall. Worshippers here clap four times. Check the shrine's notices for current hours.

   Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

8. 8

   Meiji Jingū

   明治神宮

   Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

   

   Dedicated in 1920 to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken, and rebuilt after wartime destruction. The forest around it is not old. About a hundred thousand trees were donated from across the empire and planted by volunteers to grow into a wood that would look eternal, which it now does. More people come here at New Year than to any other shrine in Japan.

   What counts as a visit

   The precinct and the forest approach. The inner garden and museum charge separately.

   Access

   Checked 16 September 2026. Free. Open every day, from sunrise to sunset, so the hours shift month by month between about 05:00 and 18:30. Some facilities inside keep shorter hours, usually 09:00 to 16:00.

   Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

9. 9

   Kumano Hongū Taisha

   熊野本宮大社

   Tanabe, Wakayama, Japan

   

   The head shrine of the Kumano faith and of more than three thousand Kumano shrines. It stands for the whole Kumano Sanzan in this list. Retired emperors walked here from Kyoto again and again from the tenth century on, and the paths they used are now World Heritage.

   What counts as a visit

   The shrine precinct and the Ōyunohara torii site.

   Access

   Checked 16 September 2026. Free to enter the precinct. Reached by bus from Kii-Tanabe or Shingū, or on foot along the Kumano Kodō. Check for trail closures after heavy rain.

   Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

10. 10

    Tsurugaoka Hachimangū

    鶴岡八幡宮

    Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan

    

    Moved to its present hill by Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1180 and made the centre of his new capital. Kamakura was laid out around it, with the Wakamiya Ōji avenue running from the shrine to the sea. It is the shrine of the samurai government, and the start of six centuries of warrior rule.

    What counts as a visit

    The precinct, the approach avenue and the museum, which charges separately.

    Access

    Checked 16 September 2026. Free to enter the precinct and open long hours. The museum and the peony garden charge admission. It is a short walk from Kamakura station and very busy at New Year and in cherry season.

    Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

11. 11

    Nikkō Tōshō-gū

    日光東照宮

    Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan

    

    Built in 1617 to enshrine Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shōgun of the Tokugawa, and rebuilt in its present form by his grandson Iemitsu in 1636. Where most Shinto shrines are plain wood, this one is carved and gilded to the last inch, including the three wise monkeys and the sleeping cat. The cedar avenue leading to it was planted from about 1625 and still runs for miles.

    What counts as a visit

    The shrine precinct and halls on the ticketed visiting route.

    Access

    Checked 16 September 2026. Admission is charged, with hours usually 09:00 to 17:00 and shorter in winter. Restoration work moves around the site, so check which buildings are under wraps before you go.

    Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

12. 12

    Heian Jingū

    平安神宮

    Kyoto, Japan

    

    Built in 1895 for the eleven hundredth anniversary of Kyoto becoming the capital, and dedicated to the first and last emperors who reigned from it. The halls are a scaled reconstruction of the original Heian palace, so the shrine is young and the architecture it shows is very old. Its garden is one of the best Meiji era strolling gardens in Japan.

    What counts as a visit

    The free outer precinct and the Shin'en garden, which charges separately.

    Access

    Checked 16 September 2026. The precinct is free. The Shin'en garden has an admission fee and its own hours. The Jidai Matsuri procession starts here each 22 October.

    Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

Respect and access

Bow once at the torii before entering and again on leaving. Rinse your left hand, right hand and mouth at the temizu basin. Walk to the side of the central path. At the hall the usual form is two bows, two claps, a moment of prayer and a bow, except at Izumo and Usa where it is four claps. Check for photography signs, particularly near main sanctuaries. Do not photograph a ceremony, a wedding party or a priest at work without asking. These are working places of worship, not exhibits, and visiting one says nothing about what you believe.

Opening times, prices, permits and eligibility change. Nothing on this page is a statement about today. Follow the Check access link on a place before you plan around it.

Sources

• isejingu.or.jphttps://www.isejingu.or.jp/en/about/index.html · checked September 16, 2026
• izumooyashiro.or.jphttps://izumooyashiro.or.jp/ · checked September 16, 2026
• inari.jphttps://inari.jp/en/ · checked September 16, 2026
• itsukushimajinja.jphttps://www.itsukushimajinja.jp/ · checked September 16, 2026
• kasugataisha.or.jphttps://www.kasugataisha.or.jp/ · checked September 16, 2026
• atsutajingu.or.jphttps://www.atsutajingu.or.jp/en/ · checked September 16, 2026
• usajinguu.comhttp://www.usajinguu.com/ · checked September 16, 2026
• meijijingu.or.jphttps://www.meijijingu.or.jp/en/visit/ · checked September 16, 2026
• hongutaisha.jphttps://www.hongutaisha.jp/english/ · checked September 16, 2026
• hachimangu.or.jphttps://www.hachimangu.or.jp/en/ · checked September 16, 2026
• toshogu.jphttps://toshogu.jp/ · checked September 16, 2026
• heianjingu.or.jphttp://www.heianjingu.or.jp/language/english.html · checked September 16, 2026

TravelDay selected and grouped these places. Naming a custodian, a government agency or UNESCO as a source is not a claim that any of them endorsed this journey.