Temples in Japan

An eclectic temple with Chinese architecture, Korean lion-dogs, an Indian god and a legendary 700-year-old tree.

The only natural gorge in metropolitan Tokyo, with lots of greenery and ancient burial chambers.

A relatively young Buddhist temple on hilltop, dedicated to a statue relocated from Mount Atago.

A mountaintop shrine-temple guarded by a horde of half-demon priests.

Home to 800-year-old zen basin, a 400-year-old pilgrim’s path, and a century-old industrial grotto.

Home to a legend of the supernatural raccoon dog, a rare wooden structure of Edo, and witnesses of the Tokyo bombings.

This lesser-visited gallery in a corner of the Tokyo National Museum complex is an architectural beauty dedicated to the ancient treasures of Hōryū-ji.

The origin of this bizarre, ghostly idol is a local mystery, even to the temple it calls home.

A giant man-eating crab monster allegedly left its claw marks on this unassuming boulder.

Hundreds of statues of Buddha’s disciples meditating, napping, sneezing, and picking their noses.

In the oldest zen temple stands a descendant of the very tree that introduced tea to Japanese culture.

This traditional Japanese shrine is dedicated to four Shinto deities.

It is believed that this Buddhist temple stands right on the gateway to the underworld.

A hidden gallery exhibits intricate, decades-old Buddhist reliefs.

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

A small shrine dedicated to a god of lightning and electronics.