Shrines, museums, parks, and the spots in between, with the access details worked out.
The garden and villa of the Shimazu lords at Kagoshima, laid out in 1658 with Sakurajima and the bay borrowed as its scenery.
KagoshimaThe park features wisteria in pink, purple, and white, a walkable wisteria tunnel, rose and tulip gardens, and nightly illuminations recognized among Japan's Three Great Illuminations.
Ashikaga · TochigiA hilltop park above the five lakes of Mikata in Fukui, reached by lift or cable car, with terraces looking over the lakes and Wakasa Bay.
Mihama · FukuiA beach park on the Iyo Sea in Ehime, laid out for watching the sun go down, with stepped seating along the shore and a headland monument.
Iyo · EhimeA hilltop park on Hakatajima planted with about a thousand cherry trees, looking out over three of the bridges of the Inland Sea.
Imabari · EhimeA daimyo garden begun in 1620 in the centre of Hiroshima, destroyed by the atomic bomb and rebuilt over thirty years.
HiroshimaA 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 · HiroshimaKawasaki's largest green space, blending woodland and wetland with museums, a planetarium, indigo dyeing, and seasonal cherry blossom, irises, and autumn foliage.
Kawasaki · KanagawaBehind Narita's great temple lies a hillside garden with ponds, waterfalls and poem-carved stones, free to walk and far quieter than the temple itself.
Narita · ChibaA 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 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 vast seaside park in Ibaraki that changes colour with the seasons – blue nemophila hills in spring, scarlet kochia in autumn.
Hitachinaka · IbarakiA memorial park near the Nagasaki hypocentre, built around the great bronze Peace Statue and peace monuments donated by nations around the world.
NagasakiA classical Chinese garden tucked behind Kawasaki Daishi, gifted by the city of Shenyang, with seasonal pavilions and free admission.
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 · KanagawaRikugien Garden is one of Tokyo's two great daimyo gardens, with 88 scenic spots recreating famous landscapes celebrated in Japanese poetry.
TokyoThe park honors victims of the 1945 atomic bombing and preserves the Atomic Bomb Dome, the sole standing building near ground zero, alongside monuments and a museum.
HiroshimaOne of Japan's three most beautiful gardens, featuring a central pond with islands and bridges, tea house, and abundant cherry blossoms in spring.
Okayama
