Kinrin Lake
A small lake at Yufuin fed by both cold springs and hot ones, so that steam rises from it on winter mornings.
Yufu · OitaPlaces 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.
A small lake at Yufuin fed by both cold springs and hot ones, so that steam rises from it on winter mornings.
Yufu · OitaA shrine at Takachiho that worships the cave where the sun goddess is said to have hidden, leaving the world in darkness.
MiyazakiAn active volcano across the water from Kagoshima, 1,117 metres high, joined to the mainland by the lava of the 1914 eruption.
KagoshimaHot spring resort nestled in volcanic mountains, featuring 13 public baths and traditional ryokan alongside outdoor rotenburo and foot-bath experiences.
Kusatsu · GunmaA sacred highland at 970 meters on Mount Kirishima's slopes, legendary in Japanese mythology as where the heavenly grandchild descended to rule.
Kirishima · KagoshimaA shrine below the peak of Takachiho in Kagoshima, its vermilion halls of 1715 made a National Treasure in 2022.
Kirishima · KagoshimaA shrine on the coast of Miyazaki whose vermilion hall stands inside a sea cave, with a rock said to have nursed the god born there.
Nichinan · MiyazakiA 266-metre hill above Tadanoumi in Takehara, half an hour's walk to a view over Okunoshima and the islands of the Seto Inland Sea.
Takehara · HiroshimaThe restored 1905 residence of the commander of the Kure naval district, with rare gilded leather paper on its walls, and a naval arsenal clock tower.
Kure · HiroshimaA restaurant inn of 1872 in Fuchu, Hiroshima, with a strolling garden of 1918, now on the national register and open to the public.
Fuchu · HiroshimaA wooden theatre of 1927 in the old post town of Joge, the only pre-war wooden playhouse still standing in the Chugoku region.
Fuchu · HiroshimaThe guest hall of a Shingon temple at Tomonoura, built around 1690, whose view over the Seto Inland Sea a Korean envoy called the finest in Japan.
Fukuyama · HiroshimaA five-hectare quarter of Edo and Meiji merchant houses in Takehara, Hiroshima, built on the fortunes of salt and known as the Little Kyoto of Aki.
Takehara · HiroshimaA five-span wooden bridge over the Nishiki River at Iwakuni, its three middle spans arched, rebuilt in the same form since 1673.
Iwakuni · YamaguchiA 1,780-metre toll-free bridge from Shimonoseki to the island of Tsunoshima, crossing cobalt blue water and white sand on the north Yamaguchi coast.
Shimonoseki · YamaguchiA 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 · WakayamaTwo shrines on one site at the western tip of the Shimane Peninsula, rebuilt in the 1630s and holding a National Treasure suit of armour.
Izumo · Shimane
