Shrines, museums, parks, and the spots in between, with the access details worked out.
Built in just one year starting 1617, this fortress commanded the Seto Inland Sea with 20 towers and 27 gates as a backup to Himeji Castle.
Akashi · HyogoPositioned on a 353-meter mountain, Takeda Castle ranks among Japan's top hundred castles and is famed for its sea-of-clouds phenomenon in early autumn mornings.
Asago · HyogoSeventeenth-century castle built by the Ii clan near Lake Biwa with defensive double moats, recognized as one of Japan's best-preserved castles.
Hikone · ShigaUniversal Studios Japan in Osaka offers movie and TV-themed attractions including Hogwarts, roller coaster rides, live shows, and character meet-and-greets.
OsakaThis animal park features a climate-controlled greenhouse and outdoor spaces housing around 150 animal species and a thousand plant varieties.
Kobe · HyogoKuchu Teien, the 'Floating Garden' observatory atop Osaka's Umeda Sky Building, offers sweeping views and spectacular sunset displays.
OsakaThe head shrine of approximately 12,000 Tenmangū and Tenjin shrines throughout Japan, Kitano Tenmangū is dedicated to the deity of learning and culture.
KyotoTofukuji is one of Kyoto's great Zen temples, celebrated for its sweeping maple valley and the modern garden surrounding the abbot's quarters.
KyotoKobe Harborland combines shopping, dining, and entertainment with iconic illuminated landmarks including a historic brick warehouse and Ferris wheel.
Kobe · HyogoA 1,250-year-old Buddhist temple in Wakayama that holds the second position on Japan's oldest pilgrimage route dedicated to Kannon worship.
WakayamaTendai Buddhist temple with National Treasures and a designated scenic garden, featuring ancient Asuka-period Buddhist paintings discovered on interior pillars in 2020.
Kora · ShigaAgricultural park in Shiga offering flower gardens, hands-on farming activities, farm animal interactions, seasonal events, and a dog park for family visitors.
Hino · ShigaVast shrine complex of 125 shrines dedicated to Amaterasu-Omikami and Toyo'uke-no-Omikami, conducting over 1,500 annual rituals for imperial prosperity and peace.
Ise · MieThis Kyoto shrine devoted to Inari features thousands of torii gates donated by devotees seeking good fortune and prosperity in business and agriculture.
KyotoSaikyo-ji, the head temple of the Tendai Shinsei sect, was founded by Prince Shotoku and reorganized in 1486 as the sect's central training site.
Otsu · ShigaEstablished in 1940, Ōmi Jingu enshrines Emperor Tenji and stands adjacent to the traditional site of the Ōmi Ōtsu Palace, which he founded in 667.
Otsu · ShigaThis seventh-century Buddhist temple features some of the world's oldest wooden structures and several national treasures, including a five-story pagoda.
Ikaruga · NaraThis Osaka hot spring park features natural spring water baths in a Muromachi and Edo-period setting, complete with a 3,000-square-meter rooftop garden.
Osaka
