Shrines, museums, parks, and the spots in between, with the access details worked out.
Historic Buddhist temple over 1,400 years old welcoming all faiths, with an underground passage and a revered statue displayed every six years.
NaganoEighth-century Buddhist temple in Nara, chief sanctuary of the Fujiwara clan and one of Japan's Seven Great Temples, featuring historic pagodas.
NaraFive-story pagoda completed in 1442 as a military memorial, recognized as the finest mid-Muromachi structure and designated a national treasure.
YamaguchiA Buddhist temple in Yamaguchi featuring two national treasure halls from the Kamakura period, including one built in 1320.
Shimonoseki · YamaguchiTofukuji is one of Kyoto's great Zen temples, celebrated for its sweeping maple valley and the modern garden surrounding the abbot's quarters.
KyotoOne of three major Kumano shrines in Japan, Kumano Taisha was established in 806 and is known as the Ise Shrine of the North for its significance.
Nanyo · YamagataPark in Komatsu on the former third bailey of Komatsu Castle, with stone monuments, statues of the lord Maeda Toshitsune, ponds, gardens and museums.
Komatsu · IshikawaThis Yonezawa park preserves castle ruins dating to the 17th century and features scenic views alongside cherry blossoms in spring.
Yonezawa · YamagataHirosaki Park features cherry blossom trees, a castle with moat, temples, shrines, and recreational activities including boating and picnicking.
Hirosaki · AomoriJapan's first Western-style fortress, this five-pointed star fort was completed in 1866 and witnessed the final battle of the Boshin War.
Hakodate · HokkaidoThe 210,000-square-meter East Gardens occupy the former Edo Castle grounds on the Imperial Palace's eastern side, centered around the historic Otemon Gate.
TokyoAshikaga shrine to weaving deities linked to love and prosperity, with a reinforced concrete building of 1937 and four National Tangible Cultural Properties.
Ashikaga · TochigiJapan's northernmost castle and its last traditional one, built 1850-1854 in southern Hokkaido as a defence against foreign pressure in the late Tokugawa era.
Matsumae · HokkaidoA six-hectare strolling garden beside Hiroshima Airport, laid out in three zones that stand for the mountains, the countryside and the sea of Hiroshima.
Mihara · HiroshimaA daimyo garden begun in 1620 in the centre of Hiroshima, destroyed by the atomic bomb and rebuilt over thirty years.
HiroshimaTraditional Japanese garden spanning 175,000 square meters with a tea house, pagoda, and Edo-period structures surrounded by ancient trees.
Yokohama · KanagawaA mountain temple in Saijo, Ehime, founded in 642, reached by a long approach under maples, with a main hall that is an Important Cultural Property.
Saijo · EhimeA Shinto shrine in Sapporo's Jozankei hot spring resort area, dedicated to the god of hot springs and healing, surrounded by nature and autumn foliage.
Sapporo · Hokkaido
