Shrines, museums, parks, and the spots in between, with the access details worked out.
A Kyoto studio where visitors put on real film-grade armour or hand-painted kimono and take tea in a tea room built for it, a minute from Umekoji-Kyotonishi.
KyotoPlanet Aqua Port at Hirakata Park offers an immersive aquarium experience across ten themed zones combining live sea life with multimedia effects.
OsakaThis Osaka amusement park has operated since 1910, blending classic charm with modern attractions and over 50 rides and activities for all ages.
OsakaThis working film studio's theme park offers authentic period-drama settings and the chance to watch real productions on historic full-scale sets.
KyotoA line of some forty rock pillars running out to sea at Kushimoto in Wakayama, left standing when the softer rock around them wore away.
Kushimoto · WakayamaTwo rocks off the shore at Futami in Mie, joined by a rope of rice straw, standing as a gateway to a sacred rock out in the sea.
Ise · MieA shrine on the western shore of Lake Biwa with a torii standing in the water, dedicated to Sarutahiko and known as a shrine of long life.
Takashima · ShigaAbout thirty thousand cherry trees on a mountainside in Nara, planted over centuries as offerings, which come into flower from the foot upward over a month.
Yoshino · NaraA small island off Shirahama in Wakayama with a round hole worn through its middle, which the setting sun passes into around the equinoxes.
Shirahama · WakayamaMount Koya is a sacred temple complex where the entire mountain is treated as one unified holy domain dedicated to Shingon Esoteric Buddhism.
Koya · WakayamaA 620-metre beach of fine white quartz sand in Shirahama, Wakayama, and the first place on Honshu to open for swimming each year.
Shirahama · WakayamaThe innermost sanctuary of Koyasan, where a two-kilometre path through ancient cedars and 200,000 graves leads to the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi.
Koya · WakayamaThe Nara-Prefecture ruins where Japan's first centralised state took shape, newly inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2026.
Kashihara · NaraKumano Hongu Taisha, heart of the Kumano Sanzan, traces its origins to before Emperor Jinmu – where legend says three moons descended to found the shrine.
Tanabe · WakayamaIn Shingu, Wakayama, Kumano Hayatama Taisha stands as one of the three grand Kumano shrines – a "land of rebirth" where pilgrims have sought renewal for centuries.
Shingu · WakayamaOne of the three grand shrines of Kumano, beside Japan's tallest waterfall – and spiritual home of the Yatagarasu, the three-legged crow on Japan's football crest.
WakayamaIconic castle with brilliant white exterior, designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Treasure, fully restored to its original appearance in 2015.
Himeji · HyogoSixteenth-century castle with traditional Japanese architecture, surrounded by moat and stone walls, featuring a museum and scenic garden.
Wakayama
