Shrines, museums, parks, and the spots in between, with the access details worked out.
Tendai temple in the Kawasaki hills, known as the azalea temple for the 2,000 shrubs that colour its slopes each spring, and for its healing prayers.
Kawasaki · KanagawaA wooded park in Kimitsu, where light entering an old river tunnel meets its reflection to form a heart on the water, best seen at dawn near the equinox.
Kimitsu · ChibaA shrine in Ichihara with an unusual tradition: expectant mothers borrow a small purse left unstitched at the base, for an easy birth.
Ichihara · ChibaA dark stand of old evergreens at the top of a steep stone stairway in Sosa, where one great tree spreads roots like boards across the forest floor.
Sosa · ChibaA small, charming Inari shrine in Kawasaki, guarded by 108 stone foxes and ringed with Fuji lava - a postwar branch of Kyoto's Fushimi Inari.
Kawasaki · KanagawaFounded in 1590 in Kawagoe, Kumano Shrine honours the Kumano deities and the yatagarasu crow, drawing visitors seeking fortune, love, and protection.
Kawagoe · SaitamaShrine near Matsue known as Izumo's birthplace of fire, holding sacred fire-drills, a rice-cake ritual and Susanoo's comb festival for Princess Inada.
Matsue · ShimaneOne of the three grand shrines of Kumano, beside Japan's tallest waterfall, and home of the Yatagarasu, the three-legged crow on Japan's football crest.
WakayamaA vast seaside park in Ibaraki that changes colour with the seasons - blue nemophila hills in spring, scarlet kochia in autumn.
Hitachinaka · IbarakiA nostalgic Taisho-era hot-spring town in the Yamagata mountains, lined with wooden inns along a gas-lit river - at its most magical under snow.
Obanazawa · YamagataA memorial park near the Nagasaki hypocentre, built around the great bronze Peace Statue and peace monuments donated by nations around the world.
NagasakiOne of Japan's oldest hot springs, in Matsuyama, centred on the historic Honkan bathhouse - with free-flowing waters and three baths to try.
Matsuyama · EhimeThe floating shrine of Miyajima, built out over a tidal cove, with its great vermilion torii standing in the sea off the sacred island.
Hatsukaichi · HiroshimaA clifftop shrine on the Nagato coast where 123 red torii run down to the Sea of Japan, with an offering box perched high on the entrance gate.
Nagato · YamaguchiMuseum on Shodoshima island in a converted soy sauce factory, with over 800 yokai artworks tracing Japanese supernatural traditions from ancient animism.
Tonosho · KagawaA classical Chinese garden tucked behind Kawasaki Daishi, gifted by the city of Shenyang, with seasonal pavilions and free admission.
Kawasaki · KanagawaA thousand-year-old shrine in central Kawasaki dedicated to victory and harmony, and home to the Kawasaki Sanno Festival.
Kawasaki · KanagawaA forest park in central Kawasaki where a rare ancient oak wood, a working rice paddy, and a buried Yayoi settlement sit on top of one another.
Kawasaki · Kanagawa
