Shrine and Temple Etiquette in Japan: How to Tell Them Apart and How to Pray at Each

Culture · Etiquette · Shrines and temples

By Nobu · Sources checked 12 October 2026 (Fushimi Inari’s news-page listing rechecked 18 October) · A researched guide · Checked against Jinja Honcho, the shrines’ and temples’ own pages and Kyoto City’s visitor code (full list at the end)

At a shrine, it is polite to bow once at the torii; rinse your hands and mouth if there is a water basin, make an offering, then bow twice, clap twice and bow once. At a temple, bow at the gate and pray with your hands pressed together: no clapping. A few shrines clap four times, some halls ask you to take off your shoes, and photo rules vary by site, so check its notices.

Jump to: Shrine or temple? · At a shrine · At a temple · Exceptions · Posted rules · Charms and fortunes · Before you go · FAQ

Shrine or temple? Clues to tell them apart

Shrines (jinja) are Shinto and enshrine kami. Temples (tera) are Buddhist. The rows below are clues, not a test: when in doubt, read the signs at the hall and follow them.

A torii or a name alone is not decisive. Shitennoji, a temple in Osaka, has a stone torii in front of its west gate, built in 1294 (JAANUS, the Japanese architecture dictionary). Some temple names end in -do, “hall”, as at Sanjusangendo. Sensoji adds a note on names: it is read Sensoji, not Asakusa-dera, because temple names are often read the Chinese-derived way.

At a shrine, step by step

This is the sequence Jinja Honcho, the national Association of Shinto Shrines, publishes as the basic form. Jinja Honcho says some shrines have their own way, and to follow it there.

“There is no strict rule for how to walk the approach.” Jinja Honcho on the centre of the path, in my translation.

At a temple, step by step

The Yamanashi guide says procedures can differ from temple to temple. The outline below is its version.

The exceptions: four claps, keep left, shoes off

Each of these comes from the shrine’s or temple’s own page, checked on 12 October 2026.

Rules these sites post

Summarised from each site’s own page, checked on 12 October 2026; Kiyomizu-dera’s notice is dated June 2024.

Kasuga also asks people photographing ema to mind the names and wishes written on them. Our photography etiquette guide covers streets and people as well.

Why Fushimi Inari posted a notice in September 2026

From 2 September 2026, videos of people dancing under the torii at Fushimi Inari were picked up one after another on X, J-CAST News reported on 10 September. J-CAST said many appeared to have been posted by the dancers themselves, on apps such as TikTok, and described clips in which other worshippers waited for a dance to end or squeezed past. It described most of the comments it discussed as critical and cited examples saying the site is not a performance venue and is a sacred place of prayer; there were also comments that dancing when nobody else was around would be acceptable.

On 7 September the shrine put a notice on its website in Japanese and English. The English version says it has seen behaviour that disrupts worship or inconveniences others, “including obstructing pathways for photography, dancing, and other performances”, and that staff “will approach and caution anyone engaging in such behavior”. The notice was still on the shrine’s news page when we checked on 18 October 2026.

The shrine told J-CAST it had received complaints asking why it allowed the dancing. It said nothing on its grounds had been broken in these incidents, but that it was a pity Japanese culture had not been understood. Its notice asks all visitors to behave respectfully in this place of worship, so that everyone can pray and visit in peace.

Omamori, ofuda, omikuji, ema and goshuin

The guidance below is mostly Jinja Honcho’s, so it covers shrines. For anything from a temple, ask the temple that issued it. Not every temple offers omamori or goshuin: Higashi Honganji in Kyoto (Shinshū Ōtani-ha) says on its FAQ that it has no omamori and does not give goshuin.

Returning shrine charms

For charms and talismans received at a shrine, Jinja Honcho says to thank them and return them to the shrine they came from, at its box for old talismans (古神札納所). If that shrine is too far, ask a nearby shrine whether it will burn them before you take them there. Many shrines burn old charms and New Year decorations between 31 December and 15 January, it adds. Izumo Taisha accepts old charms by post if you cannot visit. Ise takes back only talismans and charms at its return boxes (opposite the water basin on the Outer Shrine’s main approach, and before the Hiyoke Bridge at the Inner Shrine), not ropes or ornaments.

Goshuin, briefly

Jinja Honcho describes goshuin as proof of a shrine visit, probably descended from receipts given for copied sutras offered at shrines and temples. The Yamanashi guide says it is not a souvenir stamp, that there is a fee which differs by site, and that you should avoid times when staff are away or busy, and get in touch before you go. We suggest praying first. At Ise, the counters at both main shrines are open 6 a.m.–6 p.m. (to 5 p.m., October to December); Sensoji’s is at the Yogodo hall, on the west side of the grounds.

Before you go: mourning, inner areas, hours

For the first visit of the year, see our hatsumode guide. For hands-on rituals, try Kawagoe Kumano Shrine or the money-washing spring in Kamakura’s power spots. Shrine guides: Yasaka, Suwa Taisha and Nikko Toshogu.

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