Tokyo
Guarded by bronze lions and dragons, this handsome 1911-vintage granite bridge over the Nihombashi-gawa is partly obscured by the overhead expressway…
Must-see attractions in Japan
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Designed by Kurokawa Kishō, this architectural beauty has no permanent collection, but boasts the country’s largest exhibition space for visiting shows,…
Ginza & Tsukiji
When Tsukiji's shrine was first built in the mid-1600s it was on the edge of the water – that's how much land reclamation has happened since. The name,…
Ueno & Yanesen
One of Tokyo's few remaining open-air markets, Ameya-yokochō got its start as a black market, post-WWII, when American goods (which included ameya – candy…
Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Okamoto Tarō's mural, Myth of Tomorrow (1967), was commissioned by a Mexican luxury hotel but went missing two years later. It finally turned up in 2003…
Takayama
The original buildings of Takayama's oldest temple were constructed in the 8th century, but later destroyed by fire. The oldest of the present buildings…
Tokyo
This covered market, with low ceilings and lots of aka-chōchin (red lanterns), began as a black market in the post-war days. these days the tenants are…
Yokohama
Adjacent to the magnificent Nippon Maru, is this comprehensive, if somewhat dry, port museum. It's worth a visit for its detailed model ships and ship…
Odaiba & Tokyo Bay
This is truly an only-in-Tokyo sight: a 19.7m-tall model of an RX-0 Unicorn Gundam from the wildly popular Mobile Suit Gundam anime franchise. It…
Yokohama
Standing an impressive 296m high (70 storeys), the Landmark Tower was Japan's tallest skyscraper until overtaken in 2014 by Osaka's Abeno Harukas…
Ueno & Yanesen
Yanaka Ginza is pure, vintage mid-20th-century Tokyo, a pedestrian street lined with butcher shops, vegetable vendors and the like. Most Tokyo…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
An exhibition and discussion space dedicated to all forms of design, the 21_21 Design Sight is a beacon for local art enthusiasts, whether they be…
Ueno & Yanesen
One of Tokyo’s largest graveyards, Yanaka-reien is the final resting place of more than 7000 souls, many of whom were quite well known in their day. It’s…
Western Honshū
About 6km northeast of central Hagi is this 112m dormant volcano. The top has gorgeous views of the Sea of Japan and a tiny 30m-deep crater. There is also…
Tokyo
Tokyo Station celebrated its centenary in 2014 with a major renovation and expansion. Kingo Tatsuno's original elegant brick building on the Marunouchi…
Tokyo
Designed by husband and wife Arakawa Shūsaku (1936–2010) and Madeleine Gins (1941–2014) and completed in 2005, this housing complex certainly strikes…
Osaka
In the middle of Ame-Mura is Triangle Park, an all-concrete 'park' with benches for sitting and watching the fashion parade. Come night, it's a popular…
Harajuku & Aoyama
Had enough of the Harajuku crowds? Exit, stage right, for Cat Street, a meandering car-free road with a mishmash of boutiques and a little more breathing…
Kyoto
The largest of Fushimi’s sake breweries is Gekkeikan, the world’s leading producer of sake. Although most of the sake is now made in a modern facility in…
Kansai
The most notable feature of Hase-dera, a Shingon temple founded in the 8th century, is its 11th-century, 399-step noborirō (climbing corridor); it…
Northern Honshū (Tōhoku)
The under-visited beach at Shirahama (白浜) is a real find for open-water swimmers and beach bums due to its clear-blue water, shallow entry and…
Western Honshū
Nicknamed U-jō (烏城; Crow Castle) because of its colour, the striking black Okayama Castle has an imposing exterior with gilded-fish gargoyles flipping…
Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
From below, Shibuya Sky, the rooftop observatory atop Shibuya's newest tower, Shibuya Scramble Square, looks like one of those harrowing infinity pools –…
Kōbe
For generations of Japanese tourists, this pleasant, hilly neighbourhood is Kōbe, thanks to the dozen or so well-preserved homes of (mostly) Western…
Yaeyama Islands
At the back of a mangrove-lined bay called Funaura-wan, a few kilometres east of Uehara, you can make out the lovely Pinaisāra-no-taki, Okinawa’s highest…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
The cherry-tree-lined paths of Japan’s first public cemetery are used by locals as shortcuts through the neighbourhood and as a place for picnics during…
The Museum, Archaeological Institute of Kashihara
Kansai
This museum and research centre is an important visit for students of ancient Japanese history. Artefacts come from various archaeological sites in the…
Kyoto International Manga Museum
Downtown Kyoto
Located in an old elementary school building, this museum is the perfect introduction to the art of manga (Japanese comics). It has 300,000 manga in its…
Hokkaidō
In the 18th and 19th centuries, a roaring herring trade turned Esashi (江差; pop 8110) on the west coast of Hokkaido's southern peninsula, 70km west of…
Odaiba & Tokyo Bay
Part of the re-fashioning of the Tennōzu Isle warehouse district, this charcoal-grey warehouse contains six contemporary galleries: Kodama Gallery (www…
Southern Higashiyama
This interesting little Shintō shrine on the edge of Gion contains one of the most peculiar objects we've encountered anywhere in Japan: the enkiri…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Enshrining the deity of sacred Mt Hiei, northeast of Kyoto, this hilltop shrine has been the protector shrine of Edo-jō (Edo Castle), now the Imperial…
Kyūshū
In the centre of the Kunisaki Peninsula, near the summit of Futago-san (721m), this temple was founded in 718 and dedicated to Fudō-Myō-o, the fire…
Kansai
Amanohashidate means 'bridge to heaven' and this narrow sandbar covered in some 5000 pine trees has long inspired poets and painters. It's also billed as…
Downtown Kyoto
There are few streets in Asia that rival this narrow pedestrian-only walkway for atmosphere. Not much to look at by day, the street comes alive at night,…
Momofuku Andō Instant Ramen Museum
Osaka
From its humble invention in 1958 by Andō Momofuku (1910–2007; later chair of Nissin Foods), instant rāmen has become a global business and one of Japan's…
Hokkaidō
Part of Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park, these marshlands are 40km southwest of Wakkanai. Fields of wild flowers bloom here in summer, which can be…
Kansai
Ōmiwa-jinja is thought to be one of Japan's oldest Shintō shrines. It was built to worship Mt Miwa behind it and is rare in that it has no honden (main…
Shikoku
This popular cave has some interesting stalactites and stalagmites, and traces of prehistoric habitation. The route gets quite steep in places. Visitors…
Asakusa & Sumida River
Founded in 1627, this shrine is famous as the birthplace of the sumo tournament. Around the back of the main building is the yokozuna (sumo grand…
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