Shrines, museums, parks, and the spots in between, with the access details worked out.
Historic geisha district in Kanazawa with traditional wooden teahouses where shamisen performances evoke an authentic atmosphere each evening.
Kanazawa · IshikawaA preserved Edo-period street in Takayama, this avenue features wooden merchant houses, sake breweries and shops displaying traditional Hida crafts, pottery and lacquerware.
Takayama · GifuBuilt in 1760 to protect an ancient shrine dating to 1502, this structure in Gokayama shelters Toyama's oldest surviving wooden building, now designated an Important Cultural Property.
Nanto · ToyamaDedicated to Mount Fuji's volcano goddess, this shrine has led 1,300 Sengen shrines nationwide for 1,100 years and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2013.
Fujinomiya · ShizuokaThis museum celebrates Japanese painter Hirayama Ikuo's spiritual journeys along the Silk Road, which he explored to trace the origins of Japanese culture and Buddhism's transmission.
Hokuto · YamanashiHie Shrine was established in 1335 near Toyama Castle and hosts the Sanno Festival in June, which attracts 200,000 visitors to the approach streets lined with food stalls.
ToyamaTokugawa Art Museum houses the Owari Tokugawa Family's 10,000+ artworks, including nine National Treasures and the Tale of Genji Illustrated Scrolls, opened in 1935.
Nagoya · AichiKiyosu Castle, linked to Oda Nobunaga's Sengoku rise, was built 1394-1427 to protect highway crossroads and was partially reconstructed in 1989 to mark the city's centennial.
Kiyosu · AichiFamed for its mossy gardens, Heisenji Hakusan Shrine is designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty and Historic Site, with origins as a Buddhist temple built in 717.
Katsuyama · FukuiAn art museum established in 1982 holding significant works by Gifu Prefecture-associated artists and international painters, with permanent and special exhibitions.
GifuAn open-air museum in Aichi preserving over 60 buildings from Japan's Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa periods, including Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel.
Inuyama · AichiA Pure Land Buddhist temple founded in 1475 by Matsudaira Chikayoshi, built to honor fallen war dead and serving as the ancestral temple of the Tokugawa shoguns.
Okazaki · AichiA garden built in 1634 within Kanazawa Castle, notable as the first to use creatively patterned stone walls, reconstructed beginning in 2013.
Kanazawa · IshikawaA natural park in Nagano where wild Japanese macaques bathe in hot springs, accessible via a 1.6-kilometer forest trail, most popular in winter.
Yamanochi · NaganoJapan's first permanent museum dedicated to the Kinnikuman manga series, opened in 2024 in Numazu, featuring original art and life-size replicas.
Numazu · ShizuokaAn art museum established in 1986 that houses a Rodin Wing featuring works by French sculptor Auguste Rodin, including The Gates of Hell.
ShizuokaRegional museum in Fukui preserving Wakasa history and folklore, established in 1982 to commemorate the prefecture's 100th anniversary.
Obama · FukuiShinto shrine in Shizuoka City dedicated to Mount Fuji's guardian deity, revered as one of the region's most important sanctuaries.
Shizuoka
