Ikukunitama Shrine
Shinto shrine in Tennoji Ward, Osaka, known locally as Ikutama-san and home of the Ikukunitama Festival.
OsakaPlaces worth the detour
Shrines, museums, parks, and the spots in between, with the access details worked out.
Shrines, museums, parks, and the spots in between, with the access details worked out.
Shinto shrine in Tennoji Ward, Osaka, known locally as Ikutama-san and home of the Ikukunitama Festival.
OsakaHead temple of the Shokoku-ji branch of Rinzai Zen in Kyoto, founded by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, with a Dharma Hall of 1605 and a dragon painted on its ceiling.
KyotoBuddhist temple founded in 778 on the slope of Mt. Otowa in Kyoto, known for the wooden stage of its Main Hall and the three streams of the Otowa waterfall.
KyotoHot spring area in Tsu, Mie, praised in The Pillow Book and once a place where pilgrims purified themselves before visiting Ise Jingu.
Tsu · MieAn entertainment attraction on Awaji Island centered on a life-size Godzilla, offering zip-line missions, interactive games, and a museum.
Awaji · HyogoA Meiji-era red-brick prison (1908) and one of the Five Great Prisons with its original layout intact, now a museum operated by Hoshino Resorts.
NaraArt museum of the Zen temple Shokoku-ji in Kyoto, holding five National Treasures and 145 Important Cultural Properties, with wall paintings by Ito Jakuchu.
KyotoA Kyoto shrine tracing its origins to 656, dedicated to Susanoo-no-mikoto and his consort, with its main hall designated a National Treasure in 2020.
KyotoFree zoo in the grounds of Wakayama Castle, dating from the Taisho era, with Humboldt penguins, European flamingos, red-crowned cranes and miniature horses.
WakayamaThe visitor facility of the Asahi Soft Drinks plant that makes Mitsuya Cider, with free guided tours, hands-on exhibits on the drink and a tasting.
Akashi · HyogoA wildlife park in Shirahama featuring diverse animal experiences, though its longtime giant pandas departed in June 2025.
Shirahama · WakayamaSake museum in Nishinomiya, within Nadagogo, Japan's largest sake brewing region, opened in 1982 to preserve sake-making heritage dating to the Edo period.
Nishinomiya · HyogoMount Koya is a sacred temple complex where the entire mountain is treated as one unified holy domain dedicated to Shingon Esoteric Buddhism.
Koya · WakayamaArt museum in Moriyama with Japanese-style paintings and sculpture, a water garden, and a historic temple bell (bonsho) designated a National Treasure.
Moriyama · ShigaEstablished in 1940, Omi Jingu enshrines Emperor Tenji and stands adjacent to the traditional site of the Omi Otsu Palace, which he founded in 667.
Otsu · ShigaA preserved thatched-roof village in Kyoto with 39 original houses built during the Edo and Meiji periods, designated an Important Preservation District.
Nantan · KyotoFuture Train on Kyoto's Umekoji viaduct is Japan's first restaurant on a disused railway, featuring a repurposed Limited Express Thunderbird train car.
KyotoShrine commemorating Japan's mythical founding, erected on the sacred site where Emperor Jinmu established his palace approximately 2,680 years ago.
Kashihara · Nara
