Shimane Prefecture — located in the southwest of Japan’s main island near Hiroshima Prefecture — is an off-the-beaten-path ...

As far as Shinto shrines go (there are about 400 in Kyoto), this one is pretty special. Perched on a wooded hillside in southern Kyoto, Fushimi Inari is a 1,300-year-old temple dedicated to Inari ...

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. A shrine parishioner throws icy cold water on himself during the annual cold-endurance festival at Kanda ...

Japan’s Supreme Court rendered judgment in January on a suit that was initially brought by 27 Korean plaintiffs in 2013. The ...

Each shrine honors different deities from Japan’s Shinto sect. Visitors often trek ... According to legend, the shrine is home to Kuzuryu, the god of water, who is depicted as a nine-headed ...

Shrine parishioners throw icy cold water on themselves during the annual cold-endurance festival at Kanda Myojin Shinto shrine in Tokyo, on Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) TOKYO (AP ...

SHIMOSUWA, Nagano -- A rare Shinto "porridge ritual" to predict the ... shinji" porridge ritual at Suwa Taisha's Shimosha Harumiya shrine in Shimosuwa, Nagano Prefecture, Jan.

In hotspots like Kyoto you sometimes have to queue for the queues, but escaping the country’s overtourism problem couldn’t be simpler ...

While Spain's headline trail now attracts up to half a million pilgrims a year, its twin is often uncrowded and offers a ...

Also within in the complex is the Jishu Shrine, a red-lacquered temple dedicated to Okuninushi-no-mikoto, the Shinto god of love. Visitors who can successfully walk between two stones outside of ...