Shrines, museums, parks, and the spots in between, with the access details worked out.
A sumo show for overseas visitors in Kabukicho, Shinjuku, where wrestlers explain the sport in English and Japanese and guests step into the ring.
TokyoA hot spring resort with documented origins dating to 720, Kinosaki Onsen draws visitors for its mineral-rich thermal waters and mountainside views.
Toyooka · HyogoAn indoor attraction in Nagoya built around cute poop, with a poop volcano, a glowing path of poop and games from throwing poop to a ride-on cart.
Nagoya · AichiA small ninja house in Kabukicho where visitors throw iron shuriken, draw a wooden sword and hunt for the tricks built into the walls.
TokyoThe lowest of the three mountains of Dewa in Yamagata, climbed by a stone stair through old cedars, with a five-storey pagoda that is a National Treasure.
Tsuruoka · YamagataRikugien Garden is one of Tokyo's two great daimyo gardens, with 88 scenic spots recreating famous landscapes celebrated in Japanese poetry.
TokyoKakegawa Castle served as a strategic fortress for the Tokugawa vassal clans along the Tokaido highway connecting Kyoto and eastern Japan.
Kakegawa · ShizuokaAichi head shrine of about 3,000 Tsushima shrines across Japan, honouring the deities Gozutenno and Susanoo, with legendary origins in the 3rd century BCE.
Tsushima · AichiA complex of 125 shrines dedicated to Amaterasu-Omikami and Toyo'uke-no-Omikami, holding over 1,500 rituals a year for imperial prosperity and peace.
Ise · MieShinto shrine housing the original grave of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun, and considered the oldest Tosho-gu shrine in Japan.
ShizuokaThis temple, the head of the Dainichi sect, was founded in 1197 on the grounds of the Ashikaga clan residence and is designated a National Historic Site.
Ashikaga · TochigiThis shrine enshrines Amaterasu Omikami and Toyoukebime, along with five other Shinto deities including Ninigi-no-Mikoto and Ame-no-Tajikarao.
Miyakonojo · MiyazakiOshio Hachiman Shrine, a Shinto shrine in Echizen, Fukui, dating to the 9th century, with a Muromachi-period worship hall and gardens on its grounds.
Echizen · FukuiMausoleum of Masamune Date, the founder of Sendai Domain, situated near Sendai Castle and part of a designated historic Date Family Cemetery.
Sendai · MiyagiUNESCO-recognized villages showcasing gassho-zukuri farmhouses with distinctive steep thatched roofs, maintained through collective community traditions.
Shirakawa · GifuA performing arts venue designed to preserve traditional culture while fostering modern performances, featuring a 400-seat stage.
Nanto · ToyamaA highly-ranked Shinto shrine in Kyoto built in 1895 to commemorate the city's 1100th anniversary and dedicated to Emperor Kanmu.
KyotoFukui castle known as the Mist Castle, whose keep is claimed to be the oldest in Japan, now overlooking a public park popular for cherry blossoms.
Sakai · Fukui
