Osaka
Originally built for Expo '70, this underground construction by architect Cesar Pelli now houses Japan's fourth national museum. The building – like a…
Must-see attractions in Japan
Osaka
When Tsūten-kaku was first built in 1912, it was, at 63m high, the second tallest structure in Asia and the pride of Osaka. Damaged by fire in 1943, it…
Kagoshima
Adjacent to Sengan-en, this 1850s building, a Unesco World Heritage site as Japan's first modern factory, has been converted into a museum. Historical…
Osaka
Ever-smiling (and a bit creepy looking) Billiken sits, toes out, like a golden Kewpie doll on a pedestal reading 'The God of Things as they Ought to Be'…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
Merchants from nearby Kabukichō come to this Shintō shrine to pray for the solvency of their business ventures. Founded in the 17th century, the shrine is…
Nagasaki
This was the closest school to the nuclear blast, up a hill a mere 500m away, and 1400 children perished here. Nowadays, it's hard not to be moved by the…
Kansai
This shrine was built in 1889 on the site where it was proposed that Japan's mythical first emperor, Jimmu, ascended to the throne. Its founding was part…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
The prime reason to visit Honda's showroom is not so much to admire its range of cars and motorbikes but to be wowed by the company's robot technology. At…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Opened in June 2014, the 52-storey, 247m Toranomon Hills mixed-use complex is crowned by the sleek hotel, Andaz, with panoramic views from its bars and…
Fukuoka
A 15-minute ferry ride from Fukuoka, pretty Nokonoshima mixes natural and artificial parks. The latter, popular Island Park, has a swimming beach,…
Osaka
Nicknamed 'Ebessan', this famous shrine is said to have been founded by Japan's most revered historical figure, the priest-prince Shotoku-taishi, c AD 600…
Kii Peninsula
The last of the five major ōji (smaller shrines along the Kumano Kodō) before Kumano Hongū Taisha, Hosshinmon-ōji marks the outer limits of the grand…
Kii Peninsula
Takijiri-ōji is one of five major ōji (smaller shrines along the Kumano Kodō). It marks the beginning of the passage into the mountains and today serves…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
This strolling garden was once the estate of a Meiji-era statesman and is now the grounds of a luxury hotel, though it's open to the public. The shaded…
Hokkaidō
Otokoyama, one of Japan's oldest and most esteemed breweries, was founded in Hyōgo prefecture centuries ago but since 1899 its sake has been made here in…
Osaka
Japan's largest covered shopping arcade, which began as a wet market during the Edo period (1604–1868), stretches 2.6km over six blocks. The majority of…
Nagasaki
The gently inclined flagstone streets known as the Dutch Slopes were once lined with wooden Dutch houses. Several buildings here have been beautifully…
Momotarō Karakuri Hakubutsukan
Western Honshū
Part gallery and part fun-house, this small museum is devoted to local legend Momotarō, with memorabilia, toys and depictions of the 'peach boy' from over…
Osaka Museum of Housing & Living
Osaka
Two subway stops from Umeda, this museum contains a life-sized reproduction of an 1830s Osaka neighbourhood with shophouses, drug stores, an old-style…
Kōshi-byō & Historical Museum of China
Nagasaki
The jauntily painted Kōshi-byō shrine claims to be the only Confucian shrine built by and for Chinese outside China, and the statues of sages in its…
Northern Honshū (Tōhoku)
Akita's most famous artwork, Tsuguharu Foujita's Events of Akita, is reputed to be the world's largest canvas painting, measuring 3.65m by 20.5m and…
Kanazawa & the Hokuriku Coast
Legend says that these rock formations 25km northwest of Fukui came about when Tōjinbō, an evil priest, was cast off the cliff by angry villagers in 1182;…
Shikoku
This remarkable vine bridge is one of only three left in the valley – the other two are further east in Higashi Iya. Unfortunately this one has been…
Northern Honshū (Tōhoku)
The world's largest jellyfish tank – containing 30 to 40 species at any one time – was given a spark by a Nobel Prize–winning scientist who discovered a…
Nagasaki
This temple takes the form of a huge turtle carrying an 18m-high figure of the goddess Kannon on its back. Inside, a Foucault pendulum (demonstrating the…
Kansai
Kurokabe means 'black walls' and many of the stucco shopfronts in this historic district are charcoal grey. The shops themselves sell craft and takeaway…
Osaka
Japan's first human rights museum began in 1985 as an archive of documents relating to the burakumin – the lowest caste under the old feudal system …
Kumamoto
On the grounds of this sprawling hillside temple complex northwest of the castle, 176 steps lined with hundreds of lanterns lead to the mausoleum of Katō…
Northern Honshū (Tōhoku)
Beyond the giant red torii of this shrine, ancient tradition (and stern-faced priests) forbids disclosure of what you witness. It's forbidden to…
Kansai
This landscaped garden, inspired by an ancient Chinese garden and criss-crossed by waterways and wooden bridges, was created in the 17th century by the…
Nagasaki
A Unesco World Heritage site and Japan's oldest wooden Western-style building, this house, and the garden around it, are named for Thomas Glover (1838…
Western Honshū
This memorial marks the spot where the decisive clash between the Minamoto and Taira clans took place in 1185. Here, Taira no Tokiko plunged into the sea…
Northern Honshū (Tōhoku)
Seven kilometres west of Tsuruoka is this Zen Buddhist temple, complete with five-tier pagoda and large gateway. It dates from the 10th century, when it…
Northern Honshū (Tōhoku)
More than 70,000 pine trees lined the coastline around Rikuzen-takata until 2011, when all but one were destroyed in the tsunami. That tree, known as the…
Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Deep underground, Tadao Ando's design for the Shibuya terminus of the city's newest subway line, the Fukutoshin Line, resembles a concrete space ship, or…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Mohri Garden is an Edo-style strolling garden, on the grounds of the Roppongi Hills mall, complete with meandering paths and a central pond. When…
Fukuoka
Standing above the Momochi district is 234m-tall Fukuoka Tower, Japan's tallest seaside spire, a symbol of the city and mostly hollow (its main purpose is…
Western Honshū
Present-day Ivy Square was once the site of Ōhara's Kurabō textile factories. The company moved into more modern premises a long time ago, and the ivy…
Hiroshima Region
This museum features displays on the lives and works of Hayashi Fumiko and other writers connected with Onomichi. It's interesting for fans of Japanese…
Hokkaidō
This fish market is as much a sightseeing spot as a place to eat. The speciality here is called katte-don (勝手丼) – literally 'rice bowl as you like it'…
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