Sacred Spaces in Japan

Discover 30 sacred spaces in Japan.

Gokōshiyui Amidabutu

This statue of Buddha has a distinctive hairstyle meant to represent an unfathomably long period of meditation.

Hatsukaichi, Japan

Kiezu-no-hi (The Eternal Flame)

In 806, Kobo Daishi began meditating on Mount Misen. The Buddhist monk lit this holy fire, which has been kept burning for 1,200 years.

Iwakuni Shirohebi Shrine

A shrine dedicated to the sacred white snakes of Iwakuni, whose albinism has been passed down for generations.

Hōryū-ji

Home to the world's oldest wooden building.

Ueno Daibutsu

Only the face remains of this giant Buddha statue, which is said to be a source of luck for students.

Nachikatsuura-chō, Japan

Fudarakusan-ji

A temple made famous by Japanese Buddhist monks who sacrificed themselves at sea.

Garden of Unborn Children

Rows of stone statues are dressed up to mourn children that are lost before birth.

Shirakawa-mura, Japan

Shirakawa-go

This isolated Japanese mountain village untouched by time showcases unique and stunning traditional architecture.

Ojika-chō, Japan

Nozaki Island

A deserted island in southwest Japan that once sheltered persecuted Christians.

Ise Grand Shrine

This ancient shrine has been rebuilt every 20 years since the eighth century.

Nagasaki, Japan

Head of the Virgin Mary

The statue's head is one of the few fragments of the original Urakami Cathedral to survive the atomic bomb.

Nikkō-shi, Japan

Kanmangafuchi Abyss

A remarkable lava formation encloses a line of Buddhist statues that can't be accurately counted, according to local mythology.

Chapel Goedele

A 14th-century European chapel sticks out of the facade of a Japanese hotel.

Permanently Closed

Christon Café

A Catholicism-themed restaurant where sacrilege is on the menu.

Kan'ei-ji Temple

A Buddhist temple to honor insects that died for science.

Wakayama, Japan

Awashima Jinja

A Japanese shrine to dolls.