(Goth travel journalist / content creator La Carmina in Shinjuku, Tokyo.)

2025 is shaping up to be one of my wildest years yet… I’ll definitely be in Japan, so please stay tuned for announcements! And I have more dream projects in the works (can’t reveal them yet, but these are going to rock your socks). Thank you all for supporting; you make this spooky travel life possible.

To celebrate this good fortune, let’s hail Seimei Jinja, Kyoto’s pentagram shrine! Watch the IG reel about our visit to this occult shrine here on @LaCarmina.

This may look like a Satanic temple, but it’s actually a Shinto shrine dedicated to Japan’s most famous occult master turned pop culture icon. Read on for our visit to 晴明神社, which honors Abe no Seimei — a 10th-century practitioner of Onmyōdō (Japanese occult divination) who invented the five-pointed star symbol in Japan (associated with Satanism in the West).

Instead of the typical tranquil vibes, Seimei is a Kyoto Shinto site with Goth and heavy metal aesthetic — peep the paper lanterns with black stars, and scowling lion-dog spirit statues! As you walk in, you’ll see Gothic black and red pentagrams marking everything from the hand washing station to the torii gate.

Seimei Shrine’s address: 806 Seimeicho, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, 602-8222, Japan. It’s north and a little out of the way of the main tourist areas, in a quiet neighborhood.

Since Seimei Shrine isn’t on the radar of most travelers, it wasn’t overrun with crowds (especially on this rainy day, which felt appropriate for the dark and demonic shrine). In ancient times, Abe no Seimei was said to have mystical powers of divination. Today, he’s a cult figure who appears in manga and anime — which is why many otaku and Goths come to bow and ring the bell at his pentagram-covered shrine.

Seimei Jinja is located near Ichijo Modori Bridge in Kyoto. Inside the main hall, you can cross a miniature version of Ichijo Modori-bashi. It’s guarded by a ghoulish shikigami (ghost-like kami) and supposedly a gate between the human and spirit worlds. (See us crossing over in our video here.)

Seimei Shrine was founded in the year 1007 by Emperor Ichijō to honor Abe no Seimei, who died two years earlier. The shrine was built on the site of his house, and incorporates symbols and stories associated with the diviner. To modern eyes, this looks quite heavy metal Gothic!

Two large torii gates frame the entrance of Seimei’s shrine. Rather appropriately, they’re an ominous grey and lit by red and black pentagram lanterns.

Several panels tell the story of Abe no Seimei, who was the best-known practitioner of Onmyodo, or geomancy (a system of Japanese divination and magic, which involves concepts of the five elements of nature and yin/yang). Although the master was a real person, his feats are mixed with fantastical legends involving strange beasts and exorcisms.

As I wrote in my my book, the pentagram is an ancient symbol found in cultures worldwide including Japan and Greece. In Japan, it represents the balance of the 5 elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Metal and Wood).

In the contemporary West, the pentagram is most closely associated with Wicca and Satanism (particularly the inverted or downward-pointing star).

The pentacle symbol, supposedly invented by Abe no Seimei in the 10th century, is also known as the Seimei-star here.

Seimei Shrine’s architecture also incorporates motifs of the Japanese bellflower because it has five petal tips reminiscent of the pentagram.

Don’t miss out on the  stone well / fountain, Seimei-i.  Water drawn from the pentagram-marked stone is supposed to have magical properties.

And you must exit through the gift store… We wanted to buy all the pentagram souvenirs! (I got a wood wishing board or ema marked with a red star).

You can also purchase omikuji or fortune telling paper strips. If you receive a bad prediction, tie it to a branch to leave it behind.

If you’ve got a Gothic disposition and are interested in Japanese occult / Satanic history, then skip the best-known Kyoto temples and hail Seimei Shrine instead! For more details, watch our Instagram reel about visiting Seimei Jinja.

Speaking of the devil… We went to see the yokai statues lurking throughout Kyoto’s Taishogun Shopping Street. These apparitions are so popular here that there are yokai parades in Kyoto and Tokyo (see video of the yokai parade I attended in Koenji, which happens every year around Halloween).

Also known as Ichijo Yokai Street, this is a small stretch of shops guarded by nifty handmade statues of yokai (strange, supernatural apparitions from Japanese folklore).

It was fun to walk down Taishogun Street and hunt for yokai. Here’s Hitotsume-kozō, a bald child with one eye in the center.

(Japan folk monsters are so creative.. there’s also Shirime, a yokai with an eye for a butthole!)

The juxtaposition of spooky yokai and toilet paper is somehow perfect.

Love the creativity of the artists. Japan has a rich yokai  (folk spirits/entities) culture that continues to inspire people today — as you’ve seen in my Koenji Yokai Parade coverage.

You can also find Shigeru Mizuki’s iconic yokai characters in anime/manga stores like Mandarake. (Kyoto is a wonderful place to shop for one of a kind artisan goods.)

And now, for some Kyoto Decadance… I enjoyed “me time” at The Hiramatsu Hotel Kyoto. This luxury boutique hotel was once a machiya (traditional wooden townhouse) storehouse and kimono shop, which preserves the original beams while adding in modern lattices and amenities (like a deep soak bathtub).

This was my happy place: longing in a pajama set provided by The Hiramatsu Kyoto, drinking matcha, and lying in bed.

The Zen aesthetics at the hotel were exquisite. Hiramatsu Kyoto is centrally located (close to the Gion geisha district) and therefore surrounded by buildings — but the clever design makes you feel as if you’re in a ryokan in the forest.

My favorite moments included enjoying this Japanese breakfast with views of the Zen stone and moss garden. There’s nothing like starting your day with miso soup, pickled veg, tamagoyaki and grilled fish.

We enjoyed a seasonal Italian dinner at La Luce, Hiramatsu’s restaurant. As you can see, everything was beautifully presented and incorporated the freshest ingredients of the season, such as this mushroom ravioli.

Pentagrams are everywhere in Kyoto… even on the flower vase at our table!

Thank you to The Hiramatsu Hotel Kyoto for the 5-star experience — the interior design, concierge service and attention to detail were impeccable.

And look who we found in Kyoto… Miffy! She’s literally big here — there’s a giant bunny statue at Kiddyland. You can also visit her Arashiyama Miffy Sakura Kitchen theme cafe, and Miffy’s Oyatsu-do by Miffy’s Kitchen (a bakery and souvenir shop) in Gion.

Super Mario is another Japanese pop culture icon. He was popping out of a warp pipe at Takashimaya on Shijo Dori, the main Kyoto shopping street.

These were promos for the new Mario Wonder video game — have you played it? I’m all about old-school platform games.

Tourists tend to crowd around Arashiyama and the most famous Kyoto temples. To escape the crowds, we went to Kodaiji, a quieter temple that also had a bamboo forest walkway. We saw people dressed in kimonos, taking photos next to the classic architecture.

Kodaiji is part of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism, hence the peaceful feel of the temple halls and teahouses designed by the legendary tea master, Sen-no-Rikyu.

For video footage of Seimei pentagram shrine and other Goth travel spots featured in this article, check out my reels on Insta @LaCarmina – thanks for the follow!

PS – Domo Arigato Travel for interviewing me about my favourite Japan attractions and foods, working in travel writing / TV, and more! Check out their interview with me here.

You can also read my latest Japan travel writing for Fodor’s: I reviewed Japanese luxury hotels for Fodor’s Finest, and did a destination guide to Nikko for The Go List.  I also did a feature on Michelin starred chef Ryan Ratino’s new Florida restaurants, for Observer. Much more travel and food writing to come, promise!