Shrines

This shrine, built to protect against destructive waves, is home to two monumental lion heads.

Outside of where Tsukiji Market once stood, these memorials honor the spirits of the fallen fish, shrimp, and eggs used for nigiri.

A well-worshipped shrine to the Virgin Mary nestled inside the last of Zagreb’s historic gates.

It is intended to take one back to a stripped-down simplicity, to spend extended time both inside and out, and absorb the natural drama of the Upper Rio Grande Valley.

A replica of an ancient alien-like idol humorously represents spectacles in a corner of this shrine complex.

This one-of-a-kind shrine is dedicated to a girl who was too beautiful for her own good.

The lesser-known eastern counterpart to Kyoto’s famous fox shrine.

A cluster of 18th-century temples with an underground shrine.

Associated with Japanese folklore's most eminent sorcerer, this slab of rock is said to be both a blessing and a curse.

A rare public effigy of “the Embracing Kangiten,” the erotic Japanese equivalent of Hindu god Ganesha.

The alleged site of the months-long imprisonment of a Japanese prince.

A lone torii arch stands on a coastal rock where a deity is said to have landed.

Haunted by a giant white snake, this pond is said to bring the rain and pubic hair.

At a museum dedicated to the millenia-old rites and art of Buddhism, the Buddha's reputed tooth is held as an object of worship.

On the roof of the oldest department store in Tainan stands a Shinto shrine dating back to the 1930s.

Once upon a time in Kamakura, a five-headed dragon fell in love with an Indian water goddess.

Once the site of medieval pilgrimage for its healing powers, this well was lost and later rediscovered.

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