Matsumoto
Must-see Matsumoto-jō is Japan's oldest wooden castle and one of four castles designated National Treasures – the others are Hikone, Himeji and Inuyama…
Must-see attractions in Japan
Western Honshū
Within walking distance of town, this thriving shrine, built in 1773 by the seventh lord Kamei Norisada, is one of the five major Inari shrines in Japan…
Nagano Region
Comprising three sub-shrines, Togakushi-Hōkōsha, Togakushi-Chūsha and Togakushi-Okusha, each a few kilometres apart, Togakushi-jinja honours the 1911m…
Ehime Prefecture
Pilgrims will be hoofing it through Shikoku's mountainous interior to get here, but you'll want your own wheels if you're not a henro to get to the…
Around Tokyo
A road runs to the slope of the volcano, from where you can see Mt Fuji on a clear day. From here, you can hike 45 minutes to the 754m summit to peer into…
Kanazawa
Adjacent to the Kanazawa Castle Park, this feudal pleasure garden was first constructed in 1634 but abandoned in the Meiji era. Its five-year…
Hakone
This mammoth museum showcases the dazzling Japanese, Chinese and Korean art treasures of industrialist Okada Kazuo. You could easily spend hours…
Kyūshū
Deep in a forest along a mossy riverbed are two Heian-period Buddha images carved into a cliff: a 6m figure of the Dainichi Buddha and an 8m figure of…
Western Honshū
Teshima's art 'museum' impresses for its architecture – a monumental concrete shell, forming a low teardrop-shaped dome on the hillside, designed by Tokyo…
Okinawa-hontō
Located above a cave that served as an emergency field hospital during the closing days of the Battle of Okinawa, the Himeyuri Peace Museum is a haunting…
Kyūshū
These thousand-year-old stone Buddhas lie just outside Usuki. Four clusters comprising 60-plus images (59 are designated National Treasures) lie in a…
Nagasaki
This hilltop church, Japan's oldest (1864), is dedicated to the 26 Christians who were crucified in Nagasaki in 1597. The former seminary and bishop's…
Kagawa Prefecture
Unpen-ji, aptly meaning 'Temple of the Surrounding Clouds', is the highest of the 88 Temples at 900m. Surprisingly, it actually sits in Tokushima…
Matsumoto & the Northern Japan Alps
This popular art museum showcases the work of Chihiro Iwasaki (1918–74), who became world-renowned while specialising in children's-book illustrations…
Harajuku & Aoyama
Nezu Museum offers a striking blend of old and new: a renowned collection of Japanese, Chinese and Korean antiquities in a gallery space designed by…
Kanazawa & the Hokuriku Coast
During the Edo period the Kita family administered over 200 villages from Kita-ke, the pivotal crossroads of the Kaga, Etchū and Noto fiefs. Inside this…
Togawa-ke Oshi-no-ie Restored Pilgrim's Inn
Fuji Five Lakes
Fuji-Yoshida's oshi-no-ie (pilgrims' inns) have served visitors to the mountain since the days when climbing Mt Fuji was a pilgrimage rather than a…
Western Honshū
As official merchants to the daimyō, the Kikuya family's wealth and connections allowed them to build a house well above their station (they were…
Western Honshū
North of the town centre is Kōzan Park, where the five-storey pagoda of Rurikō-ji (瑠璃光寺), a National Treasure dating from 1442, is picturesquely situated…
Ehime Prefecture
Uchiko's picturesque and protected main street has a number of interesting buildings, many of which now serve as museums, souvenir stalls, craft shops,…
Miyajima
This 16m-tall vermilion torii (shrine gate) is a symbol of Miyajima and the watery entrance to World Heritage shrine Itsukushima-jinja. At high tide, it…
Kagawa Prefecture
About 500m north of Yashima station, Shikoku-mura is an excellent village museum that houses old buildings transported here from all over Shikoku and…
Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum
Naha
Opened in 2007, this museum of Okinawa's history, culture and natural history is easily one of the best museums in Japan. Displays are well laid out,…
Central Honshū
Among gorgeously forested mountains and believed to be the home of the God of Water, Fire and Agriculture, this site has housed a shrine of some form for…
Western Honshū
East of the river, pretty Tōkō-ji, built in 1691, is home to the tombs of five Mōri lords. The stone walkways on the hillside behind the Zen temple are…
Kagawa Prefecture
This small castle dates from 1597. It took five years to build and is one of only 12 castles in Japan to have its original wooden donjon intact. It's…
Tokushima & the Anan Coast
Dedicated to sea turtles, the museum's name – Caretta – comes from the scientific name for the Loggerhead Sea Turtle. Inside, there's a lot of turtle info…
Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum
Okinawa-hontō
The centrepiece of the Peace Memorial Park focuses on the suffering of the Okinawan people during the island's invasion and under the subsequent American…
Nagoya
A must for anyone interested in Japanese culture and history, this museum has a collection of over 10,000 pieces that includes National Treasures and…
Kōchi Castle Museum of History
Shikoku
This new museum (opened in 2017), celebrating the history of Kōchi castle, is an architectural achievement in its own right. Entry is free to the museum…
Hakone
Showcasing the private collection of the late Suzuki Tsuneshi, son of the founder of the Pola Group (a cosmetics company), this impressive building…
Rise & Win Brewing Co. BBQ & General Store
Tokushima & the Anan Coast
Got to love this place. Everything at Rise & Win's brewery restaurant in Kamikatsu is recycled from old town buildings, from the incredible spectacle of…
Nagano Region
Japan's most famous ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artist, Hokusai, spent his final years in Obuse. There's an audiovisual presentation on his life in the…
Kagawa Prefecture
The last of the Shikoku pilgrimage's 88 Temples sits in the mountains in the southeast of Kagawa Prefecture and is well worth a visit. It's fitting that…
Tokushima & the Anan Coast
This gorgeous hilltop temple is considered one of the most important on the 88 Temple Pilgrimage because it is here at Muroto that Kōbō Daishi achieved…
Ehime Prefecture
East of Dōgo Onsen is Ishite-ji, the 51st of the 88 Temples and one of the most impressive in the circuit. Ishite means 'stone hand' and comes from a…
Kanazawa & the Hokuriku Coast
Founded in 1294 by Nichizō, a disciple of Nichiren's, the imposing Myōjō-ji remains an important temple for the sect. The peaceful grounds comprise 10…
Ehime Prefecture
One of Japan's most authentically reconstructed castles, Ōzu-jō and its outlying buildings are original survivors from the Edo period. The castle is an…
Ehime Prefecture
Once upon a time, many Shintō shrines had a connection to fertility rites. Of those that remain, Taga-jinja is one of the best known. The grounds of the…
Western Honshū
You came to see sand? Well, there's truckloads at this impressive museum of sand sculptures, where sand aficionados from all over the world are invited to…
