Where would you like to go?
Can you find intersting place?
On this page, I compile a list of famous and popular spots in Japan, such as temples, shrines, castles, palaces, and museums, and so on.
Please enjoy detailed information and photos from the maps by region and the list of each category.
Temples
When Buddhism was introduced to Japan via China in the early to middle 6th century, temples were initially built as facilities for Buddhist research, and gradually became places of worship for believers. Statues and/or paintings of Buddha, Bodhisattva or Buddhist gurdians are displayed within temples as a basis for faith. In Nara and Kyoto, there are many ancient temples that have continued since the introduction of Buddhism, such as Horyuji Temple and Kiyomizu-Temple, as well as temples that were later built under the patronage of powerful people to pray for the peace of the nation and the prosperity of their families, or as family temples for ancestors.
Shrines
There are many different types of shrines that worship the gods or deities of Shinto, Japan’s indigenous religion, including those that worship mythological gods such as Ise Jingu, those that worship the imperial family such as Meiji Jingu, those that worship great natural phenomena, and those that worship historical figures of power such as shoguns. Torii is a simple gate consisting of two pillars and a beam, but it forms the boundary between the sacred sanctuary and the secular world. Worshippers offer prayers at the main hall of the shrine, but inside the hall there are generally no concrete statues or paintings, and instead there are metal mirrors and paper objects called SHIDE, which are used to purify evil spirits.
Palaces/castles
In feudal ara, castles were the base for the defense of feudal lords (Samurai clans), and the Honmaru (main citadel) located within the castle was the residence of the lord and the center of politics and administration. The Imperial Palace, the political center of the Imperial Family, was the center of aristocratic politics centered on the Emperor, and detached palaces were built as needed.
Museums
There are many public and private museums throughout Japan. Some museums, such as the Tokyo National Museum, exhibit comprehensively Japanese history and culture, but many museums focus on a specific theme, such as ukiyo-e, or specialize in the works of a particular artist.
Recreational facilities
There are many type of recreational facilitie, including samusement parks such as Tokyo Disneyland that simply provide entertainment for visitors, entertainment facilities that also have educational purposes such as aquariums and zoos, and tourist facilities such as Tokyo Skytree that also function as a broadcasting tower and make use of that facility.Some events, such as the Osaka Expo 2025, are held for a limited time only.
Althouh this page does not include a list of gardens and parks where you can relax and enjoy beautiful flowers.
I have listed these gardens on my flower picture book website.
Please follow this link to find out more about gardens and parks.
List of garden and park.
List of garden and park.
I am actively working on improving this list. If you can’t find the place you are looking for, please contact me here.
| Category | Name | Pic link | Area | Address | Short comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temple |  | Tokyo | 2 Chome-3-1 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032 | The most popular and olded temple in Tokyo with famous shopping street "Nakamise" | |
| Temple |  | Tokyo | 1 Chome-14-11 Uenosakuragi, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0002 | A temple protected by the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period | |
| Temple |  | Tokyo | 7 Chome-14-8 Yanaka, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0001 | An old temple located in the north of Yanaka. The former five-story pagoda no longer exists. | |
| Temple |  | Kyoto | 1 Kinkakuji-chō, Kita-ku, Kyōto, Kyoto Prefecture | Kyoto's most popular temple, famous for its Golden Pavilion | |
| Museum |  | Tokyo | 1 Chome-4-1 Yokoami, Sumida City, Tokyo 130-0015 | The museum uses models and other materials to display the lives of people in Edo and Tokyo from the Edo period to the early modern period. However, the museum is currently closed for renovation until 2025. | |
| Temple |  | Kyoto | 4 Sagaosawacho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, 616-8411 | This temple remains aristocratic palace style with the oldest Japanese garden ponds to survive from the Heian period. | |
| Temple |  | Kanagawa | 4-48 Daishimachi, Kawasaki Ward, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 210-8521 | The temple is well known for its power of Yakuyoke (warding off evil), one of the most popular temple in Kanto area. | |
| Temple |  | Kyoto | 1 Chome-294 Kiyomizu, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0862 | The main hall, which together with the wooden stage 13 meters above the hillside below, was built without the use of nails. | |
| Temple |  | Chiba | 184 Motona, Kyonan, Awa District, Chiba 299-2100 | The temple is located on the acute slopes of Mount Nokogiri having the characteristic sawtoothed with a huge seated carving of Yakushi Nyorai. | |
| Temple |  | Kyoto | 33 Omuroouchi, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, 616-8092 | From the foundation by Emperor Uda in 888 until the end of the Edo period, head priests were succeeded by imperial lineage with famous for unique cherry variety, Omuro Sakura | |
| Temple |  | Osaka | 1 Chome-11-18 Shitennoji, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0051 | The temple is regarded as one of the first Buddhist and oldest officially-administered temple in Japan, although the temple complex and buildings have been rebuilt over the centuries. | |
| Temple |  | Kanagawa | 4 Chome-2-28 Hase, Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-0016 | Famous for the monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amitabha Buddha, approximately 13.35 meters tall and 93 tonnes. | |
| Museum |  | Tokyo | 6 Chome-1-19 Minamiaoyama, Minato City, Tokyo 107-0062 | Taro Okamoto is famous artists abstract and avant-garde, one of his most famous works, Tower of the Sun, became the symbol of Expo '70 in Osaka, 1970. | |
| Museum |  | Tokyo | 1 Chome-10-10 Jingumae, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0001 | The museum was founded based on the ukiyo-e collection of late Seizō Ota, in order to show widely its collection to public. | |
| Museum |  | Tokyo | 13-9 Uenokoen, Taito City, Tokyo 110-8712 | The museum plays a comprehensive collection of art works and antiquities from Japan as well as other Asian countries. | |
| Castle/Palace |  | Tokyo | 1-1 Chiyoda, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 100-8111 | Edo Castle, where the Tokugawa Shogunate once lived, after Emperor Meiji moved from Kyoto during the Meiji Restoration, and has since become the Imperial Palace. | |
| Castle/Palace |  | Kyoto | In Kyotogyoen, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, 602-0811 | It was the residence of the Imperial family in Kyoto, which was the capital of Japan for over 1,000 years, from the end of the 8th century to the mid-19th century. | |
| Castle/Palace |  | Kyoto | 541 Nijojocho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8301 | This castle was built in Kyoto to maintain good relations between the Shogun who lived in Edo and the Emperor who lived in Kyoto, and played an important role at a turning point in history. | |
| Castle/Palace |  | Kanagawa | Jonai, Odawara, Kanagawa 250-0014 | Odawara Castle was located at important place at the edge of Kanto plain with very strong defenses, surrounded by moats with banks, walls and cliffs located all around the castle. | |
| Shrine |  | Tokyo | 1 Chome-5-3 Atago, Minato City, Tokyo 105-0002 | Famous of acute stone steps and natural highest place at 23 Tokyo metropolitan city) for preventing Edo city from fire, when Edo shogunate started in Edo. | |
| Shrine |  | Tokyo | 2 Chome-10-5 Nagatacho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 100-0014 | The shrine was built same time of Edo castle. 1st shougunate Ieyasu became a patron of the Hie Shrine and worshipped the deity as the protector of Edo. | |
| Shrine | | Tokyo | 1-1 Yoyogikamizonocho, Shibuya City, Tokyo 151-8557 | The most popular shrine in Japan with vast artificial forest donated from all over the Japan which planted 100 years to surrounding the shrine buildings enshrined Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. | |
| Shrine |  | Osaka | 2 Chome-9-89 Sumiyoshi, Sumiyoshi Ward, Osaka, 558-0045 | The shrine established in 211 by empress-regent Jingu, dedicated to three gods of the sea, main buildings are designated a national treasure, the oldest example of shinto architecture. | |
| Shrine |  | Tokyo | 3 Chome-30-1 Yushima, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 113-0034 | The shrine enshrine Sugawara Michizane, a historical figure, a famous scholar, poet and politician as know as deity of scholarship and learning. Many students visit this shrine to express their reverence to the enshrined spirit. |