Shrines in Japan offer up beautiful vignettes for visitors to enjoy at every turn.  The torii (entrance gate) can be impressive, large and wooden like that at Meiji Jingu, multiple smaller ones in a distinctive red, or a single simple torii that humbly announces the presence of the shrine. The path to the shrine itself […]

Praying at a Shinto Shrine in Japan in not that different from saying a prayer anywhere else in the world.  If you come with and open heart and pure intentions and speak your mind to whatever higher power that you believe in with respect and reverence. Each religion has its own customs and prayer etiquette […]

As Japan prepares to celebrate the turning of the calendar to a new year two popular and apparently contradictory but yet very traditional activities step into the consciousness of the population – retail shopping and shrines. New Year’s is one of the best times to shop in Japan, and usually only one of the two […]

Many visitors to Japan can’t tell the difference between a shrine and a temple and they often use the terms interchangeably. Using the terms temple and shrine interchangeably is the same as using the terms church and synagogue interchangeably.  Two primary religions are practiced in Japan, Shinto which is practiced at a shrine and Buddhism, […]