Religion in Japan

(update - here is an event possibly to occur soon)

From personal experience, religion is not something that most Japanese people talk about, even when there are religious holidays such as 'Obon' most people don't look at the religious side of things and just enjoy the festivities, a bit like a lot of people in western countries do around Christmas time.

The majority of Japanese are Buddhist, however those that practise Buddhism, especially amonst the youth are few in numbers. Some of Japan's most famous tourist attractions are Buddhist temples, or Shinto shrines, such as Kinkakuji (The Golden Temple) or Ginkakuji (The Silver Temple) both in Kyoto, and both have beautiful gardens surrounding them which is an attraction for people of any religion. Kyoto has many beautiful temples and shrines, however nice places of worship can be found in most cities in Japan. In Tokyo there is Meiji Shrine, which is a great place to escape the bustle of the city. There are also beautiful shrines in and around Hiroshima such as Miyajima Shrine. A beautiful shine that has the appearance of floating in the water.

Besides the few that dedicate their lives to Buddhism, few actually participate in religious activities besides major events such as New Years Eve, however it is common for families to have an alter set up in their house, which is part of Buddhist belief to respect their ancestors. The alters may contain the ashes of their ancestors, which Japanese people give respect to.

Christianity in Japan

I have read that about 5% of Japanese are Christian, hopefully that number has increased since I first saw it about 10 years ago, however it's hard to say. As the numbers in churches haven't noticable increased.

There are quite a lot of Christian churches in Japan, both Catholic and Protestant, if you can't find one by looking around the streets, take a look at sites below:
The Catholic Church in Japan:
 http://www.jcarm.com/jpn/directory/index.htm

Churches in Japan:
http://across.co.nz/churches.Japan.html
http://jguide.stanford.edu/site/churches_missions_439.html

Related Links:

  Going to Church

I personally think any Christian church is important, Catholic or Protestant, I personally go to a Protestant non-denominational church usually, however I sometimes attend the Catholic church as I believe receiving the Holy Communion is very important, as Jesus asks us to do that in remembrance of Him, and some Christian churches don't or rarely celebrate the Eucharist.

I like going to some protestant churches as they have more lively praise and a friendly Christian community, however some Catholic churches can also be friendly, so it's really up to your taste, I don't think God really minds whether you go to Catholic or Protestant churches. However I don't really know :)