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Fri 16 Oct 2026 · 33 photos

Torii Gates

One of my favourite things to do in Japan is to go for a wander and look for shrines, and wherever there’s a shrine there’s a torii. These are some of the ones I’ve passed on three trips, in May 2023, February 2025 and February 2026.

They range from the famous ones, the floating gate at Miyajima, the Peace Torii in Lake Ashi and the giants at Heian Shrine and Meiji Jingu, to tiny shrines squeezed between buildings in Sendai, a gate made for a snow hut, a blue one on Ishigaki and an LED-lit “cyber shrine” in Fukuoka. A few of the same places turn up in Birds of Japan.

There are a handful I couldn’t place or name, so if you recognise one, let me know.

Stone steps lit red and blue at night, leading up through an orange torii and an avenue of glowing lanterns with fox faces, between cycads. — Cyber Shrine

An orange torii with black-footed pillars and a peeling red plaque on a hillside path, with bare trees, pines and more red torii behind. — Peeling Plaque

A short tunnel of red torii with black bases over a sunlit path through trees, with a plaque on the first gate and a few people at the far end. — Inari Tunnel

The vermilion Ōtorii of Itsukushima standing in shallow brown water under a grey sky, with the town and hills of the mainland behind. — Gate in the Shallows

The large vermilion torii of Itsukushima Shrine standing in calm grey water off the shore, reflected below, with green mountains and a town on the far side and a bird flying across an overcast sky. — Floating Gate

A person silhouetted on a stone path between tall cedar trunks, looking through a big red torii to Lake Ashi, where a replica sailing ship is passing. — Pirate Ship

A red torii standing in the water at the end of a short stone jetty, with Lake Ashi, wooded hills and white clouds behind, and someone's hooded head at the right edge. — Lakeside Gate

A red torii standing in the water at the end of a short stone jetty, lit by low golden sun, with Lake Ashi, wooded hills and glowing clouds behind. — Peace Torii

Two people embracing on the stone jetty between the pillars of the red torii, silhouetted against Lake Ashi, with wooded hills and clouds lit by low sun. — On the Jetty

A huge vermilion torii with gold caps on its pillars rising over a wide paved square under a deep blue sky, with a smiling woman in a green patterned dress in the foreground and a bus passing on the right. — Heian Giant

A red torii with a straw rope and a carved wooden plaque, framing a narrow path between apartment blocks, with red banners and a second small torii at the far end. — Between the Buildings

A tall, plain red gate painted with the shrine's name standing over a narrow side street between modern buildings, with a cyclist riding towards it and bollards in front. — Alley Gate

A red torii labelled かまど地獄 in a decorated photo spot under a glass roof, surrounded by paper parasols, banners and a 2026 sign, with a board reading ようこそかまど地獄へ. — Welcome to Hell

A row of red torii along a path, with two people walking through them and a huge plume of white steam rising from the hillside behind, framed by bare branches. — Steam Rising

A red torii with a thick straw rope among trimmed shrubs and agaves on the far side of a milky turquoise hot spring pond, with steam drifting over the water. — Over the Blue Pond

A sandy path between big bushes of magenta and purple bougainvillea, leading to a blue torii and a small red shrine under a blue sky with white clouds. — Bougainvillea Path

A bright blue torii with a bell hanging from each pillar over a gravel path through tropical plants, with a man in an Orion beer T-shirt standing underneath. — Marine Bells

Dozens of small stone fox statues in red bibs crowded in front of a heap of miniature red and orange torii stacked against a mossy stone wall, lit at night. — Fox Mound

A tunnel of closely spaced vermilion torii lit from below at night, with black inscriptions on the pillars and stepping stones leading up steps into the distance. — Thousand Gates

A red torii over a wet stone path lined with trees, with stone guardian lions on plinths either side and more red shrine buildings at the far end. — Hanazono Approach

A dark red torii over a wide paved approach lined with stone lanterns and trees, with a road curving past on the left. — Dark Red Gate

A green bronze torii at the start of a wooden walkway through a garden, with tall glass office towers rising behind bare trees. — Garden Walkway

A huge plain wooden torii with gold chrysanthemum crests over a gravel path through woods, with the people walking under it blurred into ghostly streaks and one person standing still. — Passing Crowds

A plain red torii with a wooden name plaque and a rope hung with paper streamers, standing at the edge of thick bamboo and vine-covered woods, with a path leading into the shade. — Sengen Jinja

A small orange torii with a gold-framed red plaque in front of a tiny wooden shrine on a rock, squeezed between a brick wall and a building, with paper streamers and a palm leaf in the foreground. — Shrine in the Gap

A red torii with a pink plaque in front of a domed snow hut with a small altar inside its doorway, flanked by two little snow lanterns, with snowy hills and houses behind. — Kamakura Shrine

A red torii with a straw rope standing in deep snow at the start of a path lined with small snow lanterns and big snow mounds, with a woman walking towards the camera and mountains behind. — Snow Avenue

A big red torii beside a road on a snowy hillside, with snow-covered houses and a temple-style roof below it and a hazy, snowy plain stretching into the distance. — Above the Plain

A small homemade red torii with a black top beam standing on frosty grass beside a shrub, next to a yellow arrow sign reading 箱根神社 600m. — 600 Metres to Go

Pink plum blossom on a thin branch in sharp focus, with a green bronze torii and a shrine path blurred in the background. — Through the Plum Blossom

A weathered grey stone torii carved with inscriptions, at the end of a paved path under trees, with a car park and buildings beyond. — Weathered Stone

A green bronze torii at the top of stone steps, framing a shrine hall with a green copper roof and people walking in front. — Green Bronze

A small shrine in a rock niche framed by granite pillars under a wooden eave, with a statue, flowers and offerings inside and a red banner on the left. — Yakushi Niche