Shinto is often described as Japan’s indigenous religion—but can it expand beyond Japan? While traditionally tied to Japanese culture, shrines, and national identity, modern practitioners argue that ...

Hundreds of people gathered Sunday at a Buddhist temple in downtown Tokyo, eagerly stretching their hands to catch the dried ...

A rare Shinto "porridge ritual" to predict the state of society and harvests for the year was held from the night of Jan. 14 to early next morning, coinciding with the traditional lunar calendar New ...

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

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

A Shinto shrine in Japan's western prefecture of Fukuoka has held a traditional ritual of collecting seaweed from the ocean and offering it before an altar to pray for navigational safety and a large ...

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 ...

On the first day of my first trip to Japan, I hit my head on a doorway walking towards a talking toilet. This particular ...

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