Miyajima
With origins as far back as the late 6th century, Itsukushima-jinja gives Miyajima its real name. The shrine's unique and attractive pier-like…
Must-see attractions in Japan
Northern Honshū (Tōhoku)
The 2446 stone steps through ancient cedars to Haguro-san's summit (419m) have been smoothed by centuries of pilgrims. The climb, taking up to two hours,…
Western Honshū
Used as the location for Teshigahara Hiroshi's classic 1964 film, Woman in the Dunes, the Tottori sand dunes are on the coast about 5km from the city…
Kamakura
Kamakura's most iconic sight, an 11.4m bronze statue of Amida Buddha (amitābha in Sanskrit), is in Kōtoku-in, a Jōdo sect temple. Completed in 1252, it's…
Kyūshū
One of Shintō's loveliest shrines honours the cave where the goddess Amaterasu hid. The cave itself is off-limits, but Nishi Hongū (the shrine's main…
Kyūshū
Among the countless visitors to the grand, sprawling Tenman-gū – shrine and burial place of poet-scholar Tenman Tenjin – are students making offerings and…
Kagoshima
In 1658, the 19th Shimazu lord laid out his pleasure garden on this hilly, rambling bayside property of groves, hillside trails and one of Japan's most…
Shikoku
Kōchi-jō is one of just a dozen castles in Japan to have survived with its original tenshu-kaku (keep) intact. The castle was originally built during the…
Ginza & Tsukiji
This beautiful garden, one of Tokyo’s finest, is all that remains of a shogunate summer villa next to Tokyo Bay. There's a large pond with an island,…
Kamakura
Kamakura's most important shrine is, naturally, dedicated to Hachiman, the god of war. Minamoto no Yoritomo himself ordered its construction in 1191 and…
Southern Higashiyama
This temple is hard to miss, with its giant camphor trees growing just outside the walls. Fortunately, most tourists march right on past, heading to the…
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Established in the mid-17th century as the property of the Tokugawa clan, this formal strolling garden incorporates elements of Chinese and Japanese…
Ginza & Tsukiji
Tokyo's main wholesale market may have moved to Toyosu, but there are many reasons to visit its old home. The tightly packed rows of vendors (which once…
Harajuku & Aoyama
If it’s a sunny and warm weekend afternoon, you can count on there being a crowd lazing around the large grassy expanse that is Yoyogi-kōen. You'll…
Northern Honshū (Tōhoku)
Accessible from July to September, Gas-san (1984m) is the highest of Dewa Sanzan's sacred mountains. From Hachigōme (八合目; eighth station) the route passes…
Hiroshima
Perhaps the starkest reminder of the destruction visited upon Hiroshima in WWII is the Atomic Bomb Dome. Built by a Czech architect in 1915, it was the…
Harajuku & Aoyama
This broad, tree-lined boulevard is lined with boutiques from the top European fashion houses. More interesting are the buildings themselves, designed by…
Osaka
Highly photogenic Dōtombori is the city's liveliest night spot and the centre of the southern part of town. Its name comes from the 400-year-old canal,…
Nikkō
Taiyū-in, completed in 1653, is the mausoleum of Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604–51), the third Tokugawa shogun and grandson of Ieyasu. (Ieyasu was deified, which…
Northern Honshū (Tōhoku)
Accessible from May to October, Yudono-san (1504m) is the spiritual culmination of the Dewa Sanzan trek. Coming from Gas-san it's a short walk from the…
Asakura Museum of Sculpture, Taitō
Ueno & Yanesen
Sculptor Asakura Fumio (artist name Chōso; 1883–1964) built his home studio in the early 20th century and it's very much representative of architecture of…
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Tokyo
Dedicated to interdisciplinary experimentation, Intermediatheque cherry-picks from the vast collection of the University of Tokyo to craft a fascinating,…
Kanazawa
This Edo-period garden draws its name (kenroku means 'combined six') from a renowned Sung-dynasty garden in China that dictated six attributes for…
Central Honshū
A National Treasure, Japan's oldest standing castle is said to have originated as a fort in 1440. The current donjon (main keep), built atop a 40m rise…
Kii Peninsula
At 133m, Nachi-no-taki is Japan's highest waterfall. It's the first of many still deeper in the Nachi mountains and has long been used in ascetic training.
Izu Peninsula
It takes less than 10 minutes to walk end-to-end of this quaint cobbled street shadowing a narrow stream leading to Ryōsen-ji temple. However, the…
Northern Honshū (Tōhoku)
The 'Temple of Standing Stones', more commonly known as Yamadera, rests atop a rock-hewn staircase weathered over the centuries by unrelenting elements…
Hokkaidō
Considered by many to be Japan's most beautiful lake, Mashū-ko once held the world record for water clarity. The island in the middle was known by the…
Yokohama
The focus of the Yokohama Triennale (2020, 2023), this museum hosts exhibitions that swing between safe-bet shows with European headliners to more daring…
Kyūshū
Naka-dake (1506m) is Aso's active volcano – very active in recent years, with fatal eruptions in 1958 and 1979, and other significant eruptions in 1989,…
Kamakura
One of Kamakura's most alluring Shintō shrines, which you can enter via tunnel or a trail above; it's located along the Daibutsu hiking trail. Washing…
Okinawa & the Southwest Islands
Lovely beaches fringe every side of the island, but for sheer postcard-perfect beauty, it's hard to beat the 1km stretch of white sand on the northeast…
Okinawa & the Southwest Islands
Approximately 1km southeast from the port (over the hill) is this stunning 700m stretch of white sand, fronted by clear, shallow water and a bit of coral…
Nara
This world-class museum of Buddhist art is divided into two sections. Built in 1894 and strikingly renovated in 2016, the Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall &…
Kansai
Bujō-ji was founded in the 12th century by Emperor Toba, and while the main hall has been repaired over the years it stands pretty much the same as it…
Hokkaidō
Mention you've been to Hakodate and every Japanese person you know will ask if you took in the night view from atop Hakodate-yama (334m) – it's that…
Naha
This reconstructed castle was originally built in the 14th century and served as the administrative centre and royal residence of the Ryūkyū kingdom until…
Kyūshū
Built into the tranquil eastern hills of Dazaifu and reached through more escalators than can be found at the average airport, this striking structure …
Kansai
Secluded amid hills and valleys near the village of Shigaraki, this knockout museum houses the Koyama family collection of Japanese, Middle Eastern,…
Kansai
Kimpusen-ji, founded in the 7th century, is believed to be the incubator of Shugendō, a unique Buddhist sect that incorporates Shintō traditions and…
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