How Many Temples Does Japan Have? 76,390 (2026 Data)

Kaede

The quickest way into this data is to read the shrine count and the temple count side by side, then look again at the same figures per 100,000 residents. The tile map and the full table below let you do both.

Japan had 76,390 registered Buddhist temples and 80,570 Shinto shrines at the end of 2024, or 156,960 sacred sites in total. Across the country that is one site for every 789 residents. The prefecture with the most temples is not Kyoto. It is Aichi, with 4,506.

The figures come from the Religious Yearbook, the annual count of registered religious organisations published by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, combined with population estimates from the Statistics Bureau of Japan. All 47 prefectures are mapped and ranked here, first by raw counts and then per 100,000 residents.

Context

Japan is divided into 47 prefectures, the administrative tier below the national government. Shrines are Shinto, temples are Buddhist, and most people in Japan visit both without belonging to either as members. The survey used here counts religious organisations on the government register whose registered name is a shrine or a temple. It counts organisations, not buildings, and small unregistered roadside shrines fall outside it. Figures are as of December 31, 2024.

Agency for Cultural Affairs, Religious Yearbook 2025 edition, published December 2025.

How many temples does Japan have?

76,390 registered Buddhist temples, alongside 80,570 Shinto shrines. Aichi holds the most temples, Okinawa the fewest.

REGISTERED BUDDHIST TEMPLES (DECEMBER 31, 2024) 76,390temples Plus 80,570 Shinto shrines, for 156,960 sacred sites in all.

MOST TEMPLES: AICHI 4,506 Kyoto is 5th with 3,043

MOST SHRINES: NIIGATA 4,657 Hyogo is 2nd with 3,858

FEWEST OF BOTH: OKINAWA 103 14 shrines and 89 temples

Kaede’s notes

KEY POINTS

◆ Japan has 80,570 registered shrines and 76,390 registered temples, 156,960 sacred sites in all.
◆ Aichi has the most sites in total with 7,857. Okinawa has the fewest with 103.
◆ Per 100,000 residents the ranking turns over: Fukui leads with 456.2 and Tokyo falls to 46th with 30.6.

Sources: Agency for Cultural Affairs, Religious Yearbook 2025 edition, Part 2 Table 2; Statistics Bureau of Japan, Population Estimates. Rates per 100,000 residents were calculated by Japan in Data.

Researched and edited by Kaede, Data Editor, Japan in Data. Based in Saitama, Japan. Information is current at the time of writing. Figures and official definitions can change, so please check the primary sources for the latest position.

Aichi Has the Most Shrines and Temples, Okinawa the Fewest

Kaede

A tile map keeps every prefecture the same size, so the eye is not pulled towards Hokkaido simply because it is large. Each tile shows shrines and temples added together.

Source: Agency for Cultural Affairs, Religious Yearbook 2025 edition, Part 2 Table 2 (as of December 31, 2024)
*Compiled and edited by the Japan in Data editorial team based on official government statistics.

Aichi leads with 7,857 shrines and temples combined, followed by Niigata with 7,387 and Hyogo with 7,141. Kyoto and Nara, the two places most often described abroad as Japan’s temple cities, rank 8th and 23rd, with 4,803 and 3,180 sites.

At the other end, Okinawa has 103 sites in total: 14 shrines and 89 temples. Miyazaki follows with 1,021 and Tottori with 1,283. Okinawa is the only prefecture where churches outnumber shrines and temples combined, with 249 against 103.

Seven prefectures sit in the darkest band, at 5,000 sites or more: Aichi, Niigata, Hyogo, Chiba, Fukuoka, Gifu and Shizuoka. They belong to five different regions rather than to one part of the country. Five prefectures sit in the lightest band, under 1,500: Iwate, Aomori, Tottori, Miyazaki and Okinawa.

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Japan had 27,899 hot spring sources in March 2025, across 2,839 onsen towns. Oita holds 5,094, Okinawa just 22. Official data for all 47 prefectures, mapped.

All 47 Prefectures, Ranked by Shrines and Temples

Kaede

The table below carries every prefecture, with shrines and temples split out and the per 100,000 figure alongside. Use the regional tabs if you are looking for one particular place.

The list is ordered by shrines and temples combined, highest first. Reading the shrine column and the temple column separately is where the differences start to show.

All JapanHokkaido & TohokuKantoChubuKansaiChugoku & ShikokuKyushu & Okinawa

Shrines and temples by prefecture, December 31, 2024 (highest total first)

Rank	Prefecture	Total	Shrines	Temples	Per 100k
1	Aichi	7,857	3,351	4,506	105.3
2	Niigata	7,387	4,657	2,730	351.9
3	Hyogo	7,141	3,858	3,283	133.8
4	Chiba	6,178	3,173	3,005	98.8
5	Fukuoka	5,746	3,403	2,343	112.8
6	Gifu	5,492	3,259	2,233	286.6
7	Shizuoka	5,444	2,842	2,602	154.4
8	Kyoto	4,803	1,760	3,043	190.6
9	Shiga	4,633	1,441	3,192	330.5
10	Fukushima	4,533	3,003	1,530	260.1
11	Hiroshima	4,353	2,653	1,700	160.4
12	Tokyo	4,335	1,457	2,878	30.6
13	Saitama	4,285	2,017	2,268	58.4
14	Osaka	4,088	738	3,350	46.7
15	Nagano	3,981	2,455	1,526	200.4
16	Ibaraki	3,783	2,486	1,297	134.8
17	Toyama	3,769	2,264	1,505	378.0
18	Fukui	3,371	1,706	1,665	456.2
19	Oita	3,337	2,109	1,228	307.6
20	Ishikawa	3,221	1,872	1,349	293.4
21	Yamagata	3,218	1,744	1,474	318.3
22	Mie	3,194	851	2,343	186.7
23	Nara	3,180	1,381	1,799	247.5
24	Hokkaido	3,101	793	2,308	61.5
25	Kanagawa	3,045	1,149	1,896	33.0
26	Okayama	3,045	1,651	1,394	166.3
27	Tochigi	2,901	1,909	992	153.9
28	Yamanashi	2,764	1,281	1,483	349.4
29	Kumamoto	2,567	1,389	1,178	151.3
30	Kochi	2,513	2,146	367	383.1
31	Shimane	2,452	1,170	1,282	381.9
32	Gunma	2,421	1,214	1,207	128.1
33	Ehime	2,304	1,245	1,059	180.6
34	Saga	2,183	1,105	1,078	277.0
35	Yamaguchi	2,159	751	1,408	168.5
36	Nagasaki	2,050	1,324	726	163.7
37	Wakayama	2,010	442	1,568	228.4
38	Tokushima	1,915	1,286	629	279.6
39	Miyagi	1,897	944	953	84.4
40	Akita	1,820	1,144	676	202.9
41	Kagawa	1,636	776	860	178.4
42	Kagoshima	1,597	1,118	479	104.2
43	Iwate	1,492	863	629	130.3
44	Aomori	1,352	885	467	116.1
45	Tottori	1,283	818	465	241.6
46	Miyazaki	1,021	673	348	98.8
47	Okinawa	103	14	89	7.0

Rank	Prefecture	Total	Shrines	Temples	Per 100k
10	Fukushima	4,533	3,003	1,530	260.1
21	Yamagata	3,218	1,744	1,474	318.3
24	Hokkaido	3,101	793	2,308	61.5
39	Miyagi	1,897	944	953	84.4
40	Akita	1,820	1,144	676	202.9
43	Iwate	1,492	863	629	130.3
44	Aomori	1,352	885	467	116.1

Rank	Prefecture	Total	Shrines	Temples	Per 100k
4	Chiba	6,178	3,173	3,005	98.8
12	Tokyo	4,335	1,457	2,878	30.6
13	Saitama	4,285	2,017	2,268	58.4
16	Ibaraki	3,783	2,486	1,297	134.8
25	Kanagawa	3,045	1,149	1,896	33.0
27	Tochigi	2,901	1,909	992	153.9
32	Gunma	2,421	1,214	1,207	128.1

Rank	Prefecture	Total	Shrines	Temples	Per 100k
1	Aichi	7,857	3,351	4,506	105.3
2	Niigata	7,387	4,657	2,730	351.9
6	Gifu	5,492	3,259	2,233	286.6
7	Shizuoka	5,444	2,842	2,602	154.4
15	Nagano	3,981	2,455	1,526	200.4
17	Toyama	3,769	2,264	1,505	378.0
18	Fukui	3,371	1,706	1,665	456.2
20	Ishikawa	3,221	1,872	1,349	293.4
28	Yamanashi	2,764	1,281	1,483	349.4

Rank	Prefecture	Total	Shrines	Temples	Per 100k
3	Hyogo	7,141	3,858	3,283	133.8
8	Kyoto	4,803	1,760	3,043	190.6
9	Shiga	4,633	1,441	3,192	330.5
14	Osaka	4,088	738	3,350	46.7
22	Mie	3,194	851	2,343	186.7
23	Nara	3,180	1,381	1,799	247.5
37	Wakayama	2,010	442	1,568	228.4

Rank	Prefecture	Total	Shrines	Temples	Per 100k
11	Hiroshima	4,353	2,653	1,700	160.4
26	Okayama	3,045	1,651	1,394	166.3
30	Kochi	2,513	2,146	367	383.1
31	Shimane	2,452	1,170	1,282	381.9
33	Ehime	2,304	1,245	1,059	180.6
35	Yamaguchi	2,159	751	1,408	168.5
38	Tokushima	1,915	1,286	629	279.6
41	Kagawa	1,636	776	860	178.4
45	Tottori	1,283	818	465	241.6

Rank	Prefecture	Total	Shrines	Temples	Per 100k
5	Fukuoka	5,746	3,403	2,343	112.8
19	Oita	3,337	2,109	1,228	307.6
29	Kumamoto	2,567	1,389	1,178	151.3
34	Saga	2,183	1,105	1,078	277.0
36	Nagasaki	2,050	1,324	726	163.7
42	Kagoshima	1,597	1,118	479	104.2
46	Miyazaki	1,021	673	348	98.8
47	Okinawa	103	14	89	7.0

Source: Agency for Cultural Affairs, Religious Yearbook 2025 edition, Part 2 Table 2 (as of December 31, 2024); Statistics Bureau of Japan, Population Estimates (as of October 1, 2024)
*Compiled and edited by the Japan in Data editorial team based on official government statistics.

Population figures behind the per 100,000 column are published in thousands, so the rates are rounded to one decimal place. Prefectures separated by less than one point should be read as close rather than clearly apart.

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The Shrine List and the Temple List Are Not the Same

Kaede

Shrines and temples are counted separately in the survey, and the two top tens only half overlap. Placing them side by side on one scale shows where each tradition is concentrated.

Niigata heads the shrine list with 4,657, ahead of Hyogo with 3,858 and Fukuoka with 3,403. The temple list opens with Aichi at 4,506, then Osaka at 3,350 and Hyogo at 3,283. Only five prefectures appear in both top tens.

Osaka shows the sharpest split. It ranks 2nd for temples with 3,350 but 46th for shrines with 738, ahead of Okinawa alone. Niigata runs the other way, 1st for shrines and 8th for temples.

Shiga is the clearest single case on the temple side. With a population of 1.4 million it holds 3,192 temples, more than Kyoto and more than Tokyo, while its shrine count of 1,441 places it in the middle of the national range.

Per 100,000 Residents, the Ranking Turns Over

Kaede

Raw counts follow population to a large extent. Dividing by population produces a different list, and the lines below show how far individual prefectures move between the two.

Fukui has 3,371 shrines and temples, 18th by raw count, but 456.2 per 100,000 residents, the highest in Japan. Kochi is 30th by count and 2nd per 100,000 with 383.1, and Shimane is 31st and 3rd with 381.9.

The metropolitan prefectures move the opposite way. Tokyo is 12th by raw count and 46th per 100,000 residents, with 30.6. Kanagawa is 25th and 45th, Saitama 13th and 43rd, and Osaka 14th and 44th. Okinawa is 47th on both measures with 7.0.

The gap between the top and bottom of the per 100,000 ranking is wide. Fukui’s 456.2 is 64.9 times Okinawa’s 7.0 and 14.9 times Tokyo’s 30.6, whereas the raw counts differ by a factor of 76.3 between Aichi and Okinawa.

Some Prefectures Lean Towards Shrines, Others Towards Temples

Kaede

Dividing shrines by temples gives one number per prefecture. A value above 1.00 means more shrines than temples, and below 1.00 means the reverse.

Kochi sits furthest to the shrine side at 5.85, with 2,146 shrines against 367 temples. Kagoshima follows at 2.33 and Tokushima at 2.04. Kochi’s ratio is more than twice that of the next prefecture on the list.

Okinawa is furthest to the temple side at 0.16, then Osaka at 0.22 and Wakayama at 0.28. Mie sits at 0.36 and Hokkaido at 0.34. Nationally the ratio is 1.05, so shrines and temples are close to even across Japan as a whole.

Twenty-two prefectures have more shrines than temples and 25 have more temples than shrines. The balance is therefore not a north to south or an east to west pattern, but varies prefecture by prefecture.

What the Register Actually Counts

Kaede

Before comparing these numbers with other countries, it helps to know what the survey is measuring. Shrines and temples are two of five categories on the register.

The register held 210,007 religious organisations at the end of 2024. Shrines account for 80,570 and temples for 76,390, together 74.7 per cent of the total. Churches account for 27,965, mission stations for 17,441 and other bodies for 7,641.

The count is of organisations rather than of buildings, and the two do not correspond one to one. A single shrine organisation may look after several smaller shrines, and many small roadside shrines are not registered at all. The yearbook itself notes that around 80,000 shrines hold corporate status while many others are maintained without it.

The total on the register fell by 384 organisations from the previous year. Shrine corporations fell by 99 and temple corporations by 109, while church corporations rose by 4.

Kaede’s Summary: Three Observations from the Data

Kaede

Pulling the five figures together, three points stand out. None of them matches the picture that the words shrine and temple usually bring to mind outside Japan.

The answer to the opening question is 76,390 temples, alongside 80,570 shrines. The map behind that answer looks different depending on whether sites or people are counted.

Kaede’s observations

THREE OBSERVATIONS

Observation 1. Aichi has the most shrines and temples combined, 7,857, and Okinawa the fewest, 103. Kyoto ranks 8th with 4,803 and Nara 23rd with 3,180.

Observation 2. Per 100,000 residents the order changes. Fukui leads with 456.2 while Tokyo falls to 46th with 30.6, a difference of 14.9 times.

Observation 3. Shrines outnumber temples in 22 prefectures and temples outnumber shrines in 25. Kochi has 5.85 shrines per temple, Okinawa 0.16.

Taken together, the three observations suggest a way of using this data. The rank order matters less than the two questions behind it: whether you are counting sites or counting people, and whether you are looking at shrines, at temples, or at both at once.

Frequently Asked Questions

Kaede

Three questions come up most often about these figures. The answers stay inside what the published data can support.

Q1. How many temples are there in Japan?

There were 76,390 registered Buddhist temples as of December 31, 2024, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs Religious Yearbook. The same survey counted 80,570 shrines, giving 156,960 shrines and temples in total. The figures count registered religious organisations rather than individual buildings.

Q2. Does Kyoto have the most temples?

No. Kyoto had 3,043 temples, which places it 5th. Aichi had 4,506, Osaka 3,350, Hyogo 3,283 and Shiga 3,192. Kyoto is 8th for shrines and temples combined. Four prefectures hold more temples than Kyoto does.

Q3. Are these figures the number of buildings I can visit?

Not directly. The survey counts organisations on the religious corporations register, and one organisation can maintain more than one site. Small unregistered shrines are not included at all. The numbers are best read as a measure of registered religious bodies rather than of visitable buildings.

About the Fact-Check for This Article

Kaede

Japan in Data fact-checks its articles. The evidence behind the figures on this page is set out below.

✦

About the fact-check for this article

Checked: August 2026

Each key figure carries one of four labels showing how it was confirmed.

✅ Primary source: confirmed directly in an official publication 🔍 Secondary source: confirmed in reporting or other secondary material 📊 Our calculation: worked out by us from primary data ⚠ Subject to change: may change with circumstances

✅ Primary source

National totals as of December 31, 2024: 80,570 shrines, 76,390 temples, 27,965 churches, 17,441 mission stations, 7,641 other, 210,007 in all. Prefecture figures including Aichi 4,506 temples, Niigata 4,657 shrines and Okinawa 14 shrines and 89 temples.

Agency for Cultural Affairs, Religious Yearbook 2025 edition, Part 2 Table 2 (PDF) →

✅ Primary source

Year on year change: the register fell by 384 organisations, shrine corporations by 99 and temple corporations by 109, while church corporations rose by 4. Reference date December 31, 2024, published December 2025.

Agency for Cultural Affairs, Main Results of the Religious Statistics Survey (PDF) →

✅ Primary source

Population denominators as of October 1, 2024: Japan 123,802 thousand, Fukui 739 thousand, Tokyo 14,178 thousand, Okinawa 1,466 thousand. Published in thousands, which is why the rates here are given to one decimal place.

Statistics Bureau of Japan, Population Estimates, Table 2 (PDF) →

📊 Our calculation

Sacred sites total 156,960 = 80,570 + 76,390. One site per 789 residents = 123,802,000 ÷ 156,960 = 788.7. Rate per 100,000 residents = sites ÷ population × 100,000 (Fukui 3,371 ÷ 739,000 × 100,000 = 456.2; Tokyo 4,335 ÷ 14,178,000 × 100,000 = 30.6). Shrine to temple ratio = shrines ÷ temples (Kochi 2,146 ÷ 367 = 5.85). All 47 prefecture rows were re-entered from the source table and their column sums matched the published national totals exactly.

Calculation base: Religious Yearbook 2025 edition, Part 2 Table 2 (PDF) →

⚠ Subject to change

The survey is repeated every year and the next edition will carry figures as of December 31, 2025. Population denominators are estimates and are revised when census results are published. Close rankings may therefore change between editions.

Subject to change. Agency for Cultural Affairs, Religious Yearbook index page →

OFFICIAL SOURCES CONSULTED

Religious Yearbook 2025 edition (Agency for Cultural Affairs) Part 2 Table 2, shrines and temples by prefecture Population Estimates, October 1, 2024 (Statistics Bureau of Japan) Prefecture populations used as denominators Main Results of the Religious Statistics Survey Year on year change in registered organisations Religious Yearbook index and back numbers Editions from 1995 onward, for year on year comparison