Find Buddhist Spots
A connection with a Buddha image may appear unexpectedly. Search for places that may lead you to your own My Buddha.
Juren-zan Anrakuji Temple
Buddhist Image Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
京都府京都市左京区鹿ケ谷御所ノ段町21
Visiting Status Normally closed / viewable during special openings
StillnessGentlenessPeacefulness
A temple in Shishigatani associated with Juren and Anraku, disciples of Honen. The Main Hall enshrines Amida Nyorai and preserves prayers for the Pure Land alongside the story of the court ladies Matsumushi and Suzumushi. Normally closed, the temple opens specially in spring and autumn, when visitors can experience Amida’s peace and the lingering depth of devotion within the quiet grounds.
Rokuoin Temple
Buddhist Image Shaka Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
京都府京都市右京区嵯峨北堀町24
Visiting Status Confirmation required
StillnessRefinementDignity
Rokuoin’s Shodo Hall enshrines Shaka Nyorai as its principal image. The hall serves both as the Main Hall and as a founder’s hall dedicated to Fumyo Kokushi. Statues of the Ten Great Disciples surround Shaka Nyorai, combining the refined atmosphere of a Zen temple associated with Ashikaga Yoshimitsu with the stillness of Sagano.
Daikakuji Temple
Buddhist Image Five Great Myo-o Category Myo-o (Wisdom King)
京都府京都市右京区嵯峨大沢町4
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
PowerDignityMystery
The central hall of Daikakuji, known historically as the former Saga Imperial Palace. Godaido Hall enshrines the Five Great Myoo centered on Fudo Myoo, conveying the powerful protective presence of Shingon esoteric Buddhism. Facing the open landscape of Osawa Pond, the hall brings together the refined atmosphere of its imperial associations with the solemn strength of the Wisdom Kings.
Seiganji Temple
Buddhist Image Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
京都府京都市中京区新京極桜之町453
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
GentlenessPeacefulnessPurity
The head temple of the Jodo-shu Seizan Fukakusa school, located in Shinkyogoku. Also known historically as a temple associated with women’s rebirth in the Pure Land, its Main Hall enshrines Amida Nyorai. Despite its busy city-center location, it quietly preserves prayers for Amida’s salvation and the Pure Land.
Mibudera Temple
Buddhist Image Enmei Jizo Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
京都府京都市中京区壬生梛ノ宮町31
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
WarmthGentlenessPeacefulness
Mibudera, widely known for its connection with the Shinsengumi, is a Risshu temple that has long attracted devotion to Jizo. The Main Hall enshrines Enmei Jizo Bosatsu, revered by people praying for protection from misfortune and good fortune. Traditions such as Mibu Kyogen and the Setsubun festival add a lively dimension to this Buddhist spot where the prayers of ordinary people and Kyoto’s history remain vividly present.
Rokudo Chinnoji Temple
Buddhist Image Yakushi Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
京都府京都市東山区小松町５９５
Visiting Status Normally closed / special openings held
DepthStillnessMystery
An old temple at Rokudo-no-tsuji, deeply connected with beliefs about the world of the dead. The Yakushido Hall and repository preserve a seated Yakushi Nyorai designated an Important Cultural Property, linking prayers for healing from illness and suffering with contemplation of the boundary between life and death. Traditions surrounding Ono no Takamura and Enma add further layers, making this a place to quietly encounter Kyoto’s distinctive view of mortality.
Shakuzoji Temple (Kuginuki Jizo)
Buddhist Image Kuginuki Jizo Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
京都府京都市上京区花車町503
Visiting Status Regular worship available
WarmthGentlenessDepth
Shakuzoji is an old Kyoto temple affectionately known as “Kuginuki Jizo.” The Jizodo Hall enshrines Jizo Bosatsu, believed to draw out and remove people’s suffering. Around the hall are votive plaques depicting nail pullers, offered by worshippers whose prayers were answered, expressing the depth of a popular faith that stays close to everyday pain and worry.
Senbon Enmado
Buddhist Image Enma Daio Category Other
京都府京都市上京区閻魔前町34
Visiting Status Regular viewing available / special unveiling and event periods held
DepthGentlenessWarmth
Injoji in Kamigyo Ward is known for beliefs surrounding judgment in the afterlife and memorial prayers, and is affectionately called Senbon Enmado. The Main Hall enshrines Enma Daio as the principal image. Standing near the entrance to Rendaino, a former burial ground of Heian-kyo, the temple preserves Kyoto’s reflections on life and death through traditions such as welcoming ancestral spirits and Nenbutsu Kyogen.
Ryuhonji Temple
Buddhist Image Kishimojin Category Tenbu (Deva)
京都府京都市上京区七本松通仁和寺街道上る一番町107
Visiting Status Grounds open / interior viewing should be confirmed
WarmthGentlenessDepth
Ryuhonji, a head temple of the Nichiren school, has a Setsudo Hall dedicated to Kishimojin, widely revered as a protector of children and child-rearing. Kishimojin was once a fierce being who, after taking refuge in the Buddha’s teaching, became a guardian of children. Within the spacious grounds, this hall has long received prayers close to everyday family life, creating a devotional space that combines warmth with depth.
Genko-an Temple
Buddhist Image Shaka Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
京都府京都市北区鷹峯北鷹峯町47
Visiting Status Confirmation required
StillnessDepthPurity
Genko-an’s Main Hall enshrines Shakyamuni Buddha as its principal image, with Ananda and Kasyapa standing to either side, forming a quiet devotional space characteristic of a Soto Zen temple. The temple is also known for the “Window of Enlightenment,” the “Window of Confusion,” and a blood-stained ceiling said to reuse timbers from Fushimi Castle. Alongside worship of the Buddha, the setting invites quiet reflection on life and death, confusion and awakening.
Gioji Temple
Buddhist Image Dainichi Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
京都府京都市右京区嵯峨鳥居本小坂町32
Visiting Status Regular viewing available / photography of Buddhist images inside the hermitage prohibited
StillnessDepthPeacefulness
The small hermitage at Gioji enshrines Dainichi Nyorai as its principal image. The Buddhist altar also contains wooden images of Gio, Gijo, their mother Toji, Hotoke Gozen and Taira no Kiyomori, creating a quiet devotional setting deeply connected with The Tale of the Heike. Within the tiny hut surrounded by a moss garden, the sadness of the story overlaps with a gentle sense of prayer directed toward the Buddha.
Seikanji Temple
Buddhist Image Eleven-Faced Thousand-Armed Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
京都府京都市東山区清閑寺歌ノ中山町3
Visiting Status Confirmation required / special opening days held
GentlenessStillnessPeacefulness
The Main Hall of Seikanji, standing in a quiet mountain setting in Higashiyama, enshrines an Eleven-Faced Thousand-Armed Kannon Bosatsu as its principal image. Located a little apart from the crowds of Kiyomizu-dera, the temple is also associated with the court lady Kogo-no-Tsubone. Hidden along a mountain path, the grounds combine the gentleness of Kannon devotion with the characteristic stillness of Higashiyama.
Ryozen Kannon
Buddhist Image Eleven-Faced Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
京都府京都市東山区高台寺下河原町526-2
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
GentlenessPurityPeacefulness
Ryozen Kannon, in the Kodai-ji Shimogawara area of Higashiyama, is a giant white-robed Kannon statue built to commemorate those who died in World War II. The Main Hall in the pedestal enshrines an Eleven-Faced Kannon Bosatsu and Buddhist relics, while guardian deities of the twelve zodiac signs are also enshrined inside the great Kannon image. The serene form of the monumental Kannon and prayers for the war dead come together in an atmosphere of gentleness, purity and quiet remembrance.
Hokyoin Temple
Buddhist Image Eleven-Faced Thousand-Armed Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
京都府京都市右京区嵯峨釈迦堂門前南中院町9-1
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
StillnessPurityDepth
An old temple in Sagano known for its tranquil garden. The Main Hall enshrines the principal Eleven-Faced Thousand-Armed Kannon Bosatsu and preserves historical connections with Kusunoki Masatsura and Ashikaga Yoshiakira. Surrounded by beautiful autumn leaves and moss, visitors can encounter Kannon’s pure compassion and the depth of prayer that has endured across the centuries.
Jojakkoji Temple
Buddhist Image Kongo Rikishi Statues Category Tenbu (Deva)
京都府京都市右京区嵯峨小倉山小倉町3
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
PowerDignityStillness
An old Nichiren temple on the slope of Mt. Ogurayama, famous for autumn foliage. Its Niomon Gate houses Kongo Rikishi statues traditionally attributed to Unkei, giving the entrance to this quiet mountain temple a powerful protective presence. Along the moss- and maple-lined approach, visitors can experience both the beauty of nature and the solemn force of guardians protecting the Buddhist Dharma.
Yoshiminedera Temple
Buddhist Image Thousand-Armed Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
京都府京都市西京区大原野小塩町1372
Visiting Status Main Hall open for worship / principal image is secret and unveiled on designated days
GentlenessPurityPeacefulness
The 20th temple of the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, standing on the slopes of Kyoto’s western mountains. The Kannon Hall enshrines the principal Thousand-Armed Kannon Bosatsu, conveying a pure tradition of Kannon devotion together with broad views over Kyoto from the mountainside. With seasonal flowers and celebrated old trees throughout the spacious grounds, natural brightness and peaceful prayer come together here.
Mimurotoji Temple
Buddhist Image Thousand-Armed Kannon Bosatsu (Substitute Image) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
京都府宇治市莵道滋賀谷21
Visiting Status Main Hall open to visitors / principal image is secret; substitute image can be viewed
GentlenessPeacefulnessPurity
Mimurotoji is an old Uji temple known as the 10th temple of the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage and also as a celebrated place for seasonal flowers. The Main Hall enshrines Thousand-Armed Kannon Bosatsu as its principal image. Because the principal image is secret and cannot normally be viewed directly, visitors worship before a substitute Kannon image, encountering a tradition of Kannon devotion handed down over many generations. The flower-filled grounds and stillness of the Main Hall together express Mimurotoji’s character as a place of prayer.
Kokuzo Horinji Temple
Buddhist Image Kokuzo Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
京都府京都市西京区嵐山虚空蔵山町68-3
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
PurityStillnessNobility
The Main Hall of Kokuzo Horinji, standing on a height in Arashiyama, enshrines Kokuzo Bosatsu as its principal image. Revered as a deity who grants wisdom and merit, the temple is widely known for the Jusan-mairi pilgrimage made by children in their thirteenth year. Together with the open views overlooking Togetsukyo Bridge, the grounds convey a pure sense of prayer for growth and maturity.
Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple
Buddhist Image Thousand-Armed Kannon Bosatsu for Protection from Misfortune Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
京都府京都市右京区嵯峨鳥居本深谷町2-5
Visiting Status Regular viewing available / temple closure days apply
GentlenessWarmthStillness
An old Tendai temple in the mountains of Oku-Saga, famous for its 1,200 rakan statues. The Main Hall enshrines a Thousand-Armed Kannon Bosatsu for protection from misfortune, described as a Kannon with both compassionate and sorrowful expressions, creating an atmosphere of prayer that seems to watch quietly over visitors. Surrounded by expressive rakan figures, the temple combines approachable warmth with deep devotion.
Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple
Buddhist Image Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
京都府京都市右京区嵯峨鳥居本化野町17
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
DepthPeacefulnessStillness
A Jodo-shu temple in Adashino, Oku-Saga, an area long associated with burial and remembrance. The Main Hall enshrines Amida Nyorai, while the many stone Buddhas and stupas throughout the grounds preserve prayers for people who died without surviving relatives to tend their graves. Amid the quiet of Sagano, the temple invites reflection on the transience of life and the salvation offered by Amida.