Think you know Japan? Go deeper through its shrines.
Sacred Japan is an English-language shrine guide for repeat visitors who want to explore a deeper side of Kanto — with a strong focus on Northern Kanto.
Start Here
Why Gunma? Mountains, Hot Springs, and Shrines Beyond Tokyo
Tokyo, Kyoto, Mount Fuji, Hakone, Nikko. For travelers visiting Japan, these are the names that tend to come up. This guide explains why Gunma — with its mountains, hot springs, and deeply rooted shrine culture — is worth looking beyond the usual route.
Beginner’s Guide
Start with the basics: what shrines are, how to behave respectfully, how temples differ, and what goshuin mean.
- What Is a Shinto Shrine? A Beginner’s Guide for Travelers to Japan
- Shrine Etiquette in Japan: A Practical Guide for Foreign Visitors
- Shrine or Temple? A Simple Way to Tell the Difference
- What Is a Goshuin? A Beginner’s Guide for Travelers
- Understanding Shinbutsu-shugo: How Shinto and Buddhism Coexisted in Japan
- Understanding Shugendo: Japan’s Tradition of Prayer, Walking, and Ascetic Practice in the Mountains
Shrine Guide
Field guides to shrines across Kanto, with especially deep coverage of Northern Kanto. These are designed to help you understand what makes each place special before deciding whether to add it to your trip.
Gunma
- Why Gunma? Mountains, Hot Springs, and Shrines Beyond Tokyo
- Why Are There Three Akagi Shrines? Miyosawa, Ninomiya, and Odo
- Haruna Shrine: A Sacred Site Where Rock, Waterfall, and Forest Become One
- Myogi Shrine: Climbing Ancient Stone Steps Toward a Mountain of Jagged Rock
- Ikaho Shrine: A Hot Spring Town’s Shrine, Reached by 365 Stone Steps
- Mizusawa Kannon: 1,300 Years of History and Water Worship, Near Ikaho
- Kiso Sansha Shrine: A Descending Approach Into a Domain of Water and Forest
Tochigi
Saitama
Tokyo
- Chasing Masakado Through Tokyo: Five Sites Where a Cursed Warrior Became a Guardian
- Tokyo From a Different Angle: A Day Following Edo Castle’s Guardian Directions
- Suginomori Shrine: A Small Shrine of Fortune, Where Edo’s Lottery Culture Still Lingers
- Suehiro Shrine: The Guardian of Old Yoshiwara, Still Rooted in Ningyocho
- Kasama Inari Shrine Tokyo Branch: A Former Daimyo Estate Shrine Hidden in Nihonbashi
Kanagawa
Ibaraki
Shrines beyond the usual tourist route
From mountain worship and wolf traditions to hot spring towns, ancient sacred forests, and historical figures who became objects of worship, Sacred Japan focuses on the stories that make shrines more than sightseeing stops.
Plan the journey, not just the visit
Each guide is designed to help you decide whether a shrine belongs in your itinerary — including practical access information and, where useful, nearby places to stay, transport options, and other travel essentials.
Start with the shrine. Discover the culture around it.