Search and navigate the site

What this helps you do

• Find places, guides, events, goshuin, pilgrimage routes, and account areas without memorizing URLs.
• Get better results when a temple name is not matching.
• Suggest a temple or shrine when it turns out we do not have it yet.

Search is best when you know what you are looking for. Navigation is better when you are still browsing.

Before you start

• Know whether you are searching for a place, a topic, a route, an article, or an account setting.
• Use the current site language if you want search labels and page titles to match the interface.

Opening search

Select the search box in the header, or press Cmd + K on a Mac and
Ctrl + K on Windows and Linux. The same panel opens from anywhere on the
site, so you do not need to go back to the home page first.

Steps

1. Use the header search for known place names, cities, prefectures, deities, route names, or article topics.
2. Open the closest result and check the breadcrumb to confirm where you landed.
3. Use /places when you want a browsable list of temples and shrines.
4. Use /goshuin when you want to browse goshuin designs rather than places.
5. Use /map when location matters more than text results.
6. Use /pilgrimages when you are planning around a route.
7. Use /settings only after signing in, when you need account preferences.

Getting better results for a temple name

Japanese place names are written and read in more ways than most search boxes
handle, so a miss usually means the query needs adjusting.

• Search matches both romaji and kanji. If one gives you nothing, try the other.
• Drop suffixes and honorifics. Kiyomizu matches more than Kiyomizu-dera Temple.
• Try the reading printed on your goshuin. Plenty of places are listed under a reading you would not guess from the English name.
• Search the city or prefecture instead, then browse to the place from there.
• Check /map when you know roughly where it is but not what it is called.

When the place really is missing

Some temples and shrines are not in the Atlas yet. When a search comes back
empty, the results panel offers to add it: you will see an option reading
Suggest "your search" as a new temple or shrine.

Select it and send the name. The address and the location are optional, and they
help the review go faster, but the name alone is enough to start. Every
suggestion is read by an editor before anything is published, and you can follow
what happened to yours under Settings > Contributions.

You need to be signed in to send one. If you are not, you will be asked to sign
in and then returned to the suggestion you started.

Tips

• Try one search term first. Add more detail only if the result list is too broad.
• If a place name has multiple spellings, search by city or prefecture as a backup.
• Use breadcrumbs to move back up from detail pages to broader collection pages.

Troubleshooting

• If search does not return the place you expected, try /places or /map before assuming the place is missing.
• If you land on the wrong place, compare the city, prefecture, and map position before continuing.
• If a link asks you to sign in, you are probably trying to access a personal or settings area.

Privacy, accuracy, or availability notes

• Search and public navigation reach public pages only. Personal pages require you to be signed in.
• Search results and listing pages are discovery aids. Confirm visit-critical details on the place page and official source.
• Avoid sharing private account or travel details in public community areas.

Related tutorials

• Create an account and choose your language
• Suggest corrections and report issues
• Upload goshuin to your goshuincho
• Understand place data