Southern Higashiyama
This small memorial hall is one of Kyoto’s most commonly overlooked little gems. The hall was the home and workshop of one of Japan’s most famous potters,…
Must-see attractions in Japan
Western Honshū
About 5km northeast of Shimonoseki Station, this park has superb views over the Kanmon Straits from the top of 268m-high Hino-yama. To get to the lookout…
Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (MOT)
Asakusa & Sumida River
For a primer in the major movements of post-WWII Japanese art, a visit to the permanent collection gallery here should do the trick. Temporary exhibitions…
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Kagurazaka’s signature shrine only bears a passing resemblance to the traditional ones around the city. In 2010 the shrine, which can trace its history…
Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture
Hiroshima Region
This ode to architecture and Ōmi-shima showcases the natural beauty of the island through two buildings designed by internationally acclaimed architect…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
One of Tokyo’s most elegant and tasteful museums is named after Kikuchi Tomo, whose collection of contemporary Japanese ceramics wowed them in Washington…
Hokkaidō
Sōunkyō is a string of gorges 15km long formed by the Ishikari-gawa, the very same Ishikari River that empties out into the Sea of Japan just north of…
Odaiba & Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Sea Life Park is the city's best aquarium. Particularly interesting is the exhibit that recreates Tokyo Bay's ecosystem – in case you were wondering…
Western Honshū
A highlight on the Kibiji bicycle route, this temple has a picturesque five-storey, 34m pagoda – famed for being the last pagoda to be built in Japan. The…
Karakuri Exhibition Room (Annexe)
Central Honshū
This small annexe of the town museum exhibits Edo- and Meiji-era karakuri ningyō (marionettes). On Saturday and Sunday at 10.30am and 2pm you can see the…
Ueno & Yanesen
This enchanting gallery, part of the Tokyo National Museum, displays masks, metalwork and sculptures from the temple Hōryū-ji (in Nara Prefecture, dating…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
Rising nearly 40m high and glistening in the sun, this stainless-steel contemporary cathedral was completed in 1955. It's the work of Japan's foremost…
Asakusa & Sumida River
The Sensō-ji temple precinct begins at this majestic gate, from which hangs an enormous chōchin (lantern); look under this to see a beautiful carved…
Kamakura
Tiny Ennō-ji is distinguished by its statues depicting the judges of hell. According to the Juo concept of Taoism, which was introduced to Japan from…
Ōsumi Islands
In a forested spot with sea views, the Yakusugi Museum has informative, beautifully designed exhibits about yakusugi and the history of the islanders'…
Asakusa & Sumida River
One of Tokyo's most picturesque retreats, Kiyosumi-teien started out in 1721 as the villa of a daimyō (domain lord; regional lord under the shoguns)…
Kansai
Though other kofun remain covered in earth, Japan's largest stone burial chamber is laid bare and you can walk inside. The tomb was looted centuries ago,…
Kyūshū
This old-school museum has exhibits and dioramas about Aso, volcanos in general and the sometimes fraught relationship locals have with the volcano system…
Western Honshū
The 5th-century Tsukuriyama-kofun is the fourth-biggest kofun tomb (keyhole-shaped burial mound) in Japan. It's thought to mark the final resting place of…
Akan International Crane Centre 'GRUS'
Hokkaidō
You can see a few cranes in breeding pens here but the real attraction is the Crane Observation Centre (8.30am to 4.30pm November to March), a winter…
International Library of Children's Literature
Ueno & Yanesen
Occupying a handsome brick-clad building dating from 1906, this branch of the National Diet Library stores hundreds of thousands of volumes including…
Nagano Region
From Okusha bus stop it's 2km (40 minutes' walk) to Okusha (meaning 'Upper Shrine') – the innermost of the three sub-shrines making up Togakushi-jinja –…
Southern Higashiyama
Founded in 1202 by the monk Eisai, Kennin-ji is the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto. It is an island of peace and calm on the border of the boisterous Gion…
Western Honshū
This museum is housed in a 150-year-old building that once served as the home of a shōya (village headman). Downstairs is a collection of soft-edged…
Asakusa & Sumida River
This subtemple of Sensō-ji dates to the late 17th century. The deity enshrined here is a guardian of women and the temple is the site of a curious ancient…
Nara
Kōfuku-ji's northern octagonal hall was first built in 721. The current reconstruction is c 1210, making it the second-oldest structure at Kōfuku-ji.
Sapporo
This museum does an admirable job of explaining Hokkaidō's multilayered history, from the age of the woolly mammoths to the age of the steam locomotives,…
Western Honshū
This pretty garden occupying an area of around 40,000 sq metres was established privately in 1975 on Lake Nakaumi's Daikonshima Island, between Matsue and…
Asakusa & Sumida River
At the end of Sensō-ji's Nakamise-dōri, this gate is flanked by two fierce guardian deities. On the gate’s back side are a pair of 2500kg, 4.5m-tall…
National Museum of Nature & Science
Ueno & Yanesen
The Japan Gallery here showcases the rich and varied wildlife of the Japanese archipelago, from the bears of Hokkaidō to the giant beetles of Okinawa…
Hokkaidō
At the eastern edge of town, this centre has exhibitions on local flora and fauna, including marimo in aquarium tanks. It also has hiking maps in English…
National Museum of Western Art
Ueno & Yanesen
The permanent collection here runs from medieval Madonna-and-child images to 20th-century abstract expressionism, but is strongest in French impressionism…
Kanazawa & the Hokuriku Coast
Atop a hill overlooking the town, this little yamashiro (mountain castle) is a true delight, even if it is a replica and you have to climb all those…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
Japan's most celebrated manga artist Tezuka Osamu lived most of his life in Takadanobaba and the neighbourhood couldn't be prouder. In front of the…
Western Honshū
Crowded into two small caves at Gohyakurakan, there are 500 diminutive stone statues of the Buddha's disciples, each showing a different expression – some…
Waki-honjin (Okuya) & Local History Museum
Tsumago
This waki-honjin (rest stop) for the daimyōs' (domain lords') retainers was reconstructed in 1877 by a former castle builder under special dispensation…
Odaiba & Tokyo Bay
There are good views of the central Tokyo skyline from this park’s promenades and elevated walkways – especially at night when old-fashioned yakatabune …
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Established in 1691 and later used as a school for the sons of the powerful during the Tokugawa regime, this is one of Tokyo’s handful of Confucian…
Western Honshū
The first public school in Japan, Edo-era Shizutani Gakko has wood interiors with glossy lacquered floors and beautifully preserved Bizen-yaki roof tiles…
Hokkaidō
This is a spectacular 20km stretch of wildflowers along the coast between Abashiri and Shari. Visit in early summer and catch it at its peak, when more…
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