Shrines, museums, parks, and the spots in between, with the access details worked out.
The Nara-Prefecture ruins where Japan's first centralised state took shape, newly inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2026.
Kashihara · NaraA vast seaside park in Ibaraki that changes colour with the seasons – blue nemophila hills in spring, scarlet kochia in autumn.
Hitachinaka · IbarakiA nostalgic Taisho-era hot-spring town in the Yamagata mountains, lined with wooden inns along a gas-lit river – at its most magical under snow.
Obanazawa · YamagataA memorial park near the Nagasaki hypocentre, built around the great bronze Peace Statue and peace monuments donated by nations around the world.
NagasakiOne of Japan's oldest hot springs, in Matsuyama, centred on the historic Honkan bathhouse – with free-flowing waters and three baths to try.
Matsuyama · EhimeA small, charming Inari shrine in Kawasaki, guarded by 108 stone foxes and ringed with Fuji lava – a postwar branch of Kyoto's Fushimi Inari.
Kawasaki · KanagawaSeven vividly coloured hot springs in Beppu – from a cobalt-blue pool to a blood-red pond — too hot to bathe in, but spectacular to see.
Beppu · OitaThe floating shrine of Miyajima, built out over a tidal cove, with its great vermilion torii standing in the sea off the sacred island.
Hatsukaichi · HiroshimaA clifftop shrine on the Nagato coast where 123 red torii run down to the Sea of Japan, with an offering box perched high on the entrance gate.
Nagato · YamaguchiHoused in a converted soy sauce factory, this museum showcases over 800 yokai artworks tracing Japanese supernatural traditions from ancient animism through the Edo period.
Tonosho · KagawaA classical Chinese garden tucked behind Kawasaki Daishi, gifted by the city of Shenyang, with seasonal pavilions and free admission.
Kawasaki · KanagawaA thousand-year-old shrine in central Kawasaki dedicated to victory and harmony, and home to the Kawasaki Sanno Festival.
Kawasaki · KanagawaA forest park in central Kawasaki where a rare ancient oak wood, a working rice paddy, and a buried Yayoi settlement sit on top of one another.
Kawasaki · KanagawaKawasaki Keiba is one of Tokyo's most beginner-friendly racecourses – part racing venue, part public park, with a food court and infield playground.
Kawasaki · KanagawaHakone Shrine, Motohakone, Hakone, Kanagawa, was founded in 757 on the shores of Lake Ashi and is known for its Heiwa no Torii, a red torii gate standing in the lake.
Hakone · KanagawaRikugien Garden is one of Tokyo's two great daimyo gardens, with 88 scenic spots recreating famous landscapes celebrated in Japanese poetry.
TokyoA Tendai temple in the Nagao Hills of Kawasaki, known as the "hydrangea temple" for the 1,000 shrubs that fill its grounds each June, with a June festival.
Kawasaki · KanagawaThe park honors victims of the 1945 atomic bombing and preserves the Atomic Bomb Dome, the sole standing building near ground zero, alongside monuments and a museum.
Hiroshima
