The World’s Sacred Places

Sacred Places

Discover a curated guide to significant sacred places, pilgrimage traditions, architecture, documented history and practical visitor information across cultures and faith traditions.

CuratedSource-awareMulti-faithVisitor-ready where known

Sacred Place City / locality

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Place Type Religious Tradition Tradition / Denomination Sacred Association Country State / Province / Region District / Subregion Architecture Heritage Facilities Entry / Visitor Access

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28 Sacred Places

Browse Sacred Places selected for Templestan’s public collection.

Kinkaku-ji (Rokuon-ji)

Kita, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan Buddhism

World-famous Zen temple in Kyoto centered on the gold-leaf-covered Golden Pavilion.

Kiyomizu-dera

Higashiyama, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan Buddhism

UNESCO-listed Kyoto temple famous for its wooden stage, Kannon devotion and Otowa Waterfall.

Kannon (Avalokiteshvara)

Kumano Nachi Taisha

Nachisan, Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan Shinto

Kumano grand shrine above Nachi Falls, joining waterfall worship, pilgrimage and a rare surviving Shinto-Buddhist sacred landscape.

Nachi Falls and Kumano deities

Meiji Jingu

Shibuya, Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan Shinto

Tokyo’s major imperial Shinto shrine, set within a vast man-made forest beside Harajuku.

Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken

Naritasan Shinsho-ji

Narita, Chiba Prefecture, Japan Buddhism

Major Shingon temple near Narita, renowned for its daily Goma fire ritual and huge New Year pilgrimage crowds.

Fudo Myoo (Acala)

Nikko Futarasan-jinja

Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan Shinto

Ancient Nikko mountain-worship shrine dedicated to the deity of Mount Nantai and part of the UNESCO Nikko complex.

Mount Nantai deity

Nikko Toshogu

Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan Shinto

Lavishly decorated UNESCO shrine and mausoleum complex enshrining Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Tokugawa Ieyasu (Tosho Daigongen)

Oura Cathedral

Minamiyamate, Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan Christianity

Historic Nagasaki Catholic church associated with the 1865 “Discovery of Hidden Christians” and UNESCO Christian heritage.

Twenty-Six Martyrs of Japan|Hidden Christians

Risshaku-ji (Yamadera)

Yamadera, Yamagata, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan Buddhism

Mountainside temple in Yamagata reached by more than 1,000 stone steps, with a famous “eternal” Buddhist flame tradition.

Seiganto-ji

Nachisan, Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan Buddhism

Historic Buddhist temple beside Kumano Nachi Taisha, famous for its pagoda view with Nachi Falls.

Nyoirin Kannon tradition

Senso-ji

Asakusa, Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan Buddhism

Tokyo’s oldest and most famous Buddhist temple, centered on devotion to Kannon in historic Asakusa.

Kannon (Avalokiteshvara)

Todai-ji

Zoshicho, Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan Buddhism

UNESCO-listed Nara temple housing the monumental Great Buddha and central to early Japanese state Buddhism.

Vairocana Buddha