Language · 11 published
Country guide
Around three quarters of Japan is mountain and forest, which pushes almost everyone onto the eastern coastal plains and makes the country far narrower in practice than 377,975 km2 suggests. Forty-seven prefectures, eight traditional regions and more than 14,000 smaller islands, and yet a first visit usually runs along a single rail corridor with Tokyo at one end and Kyoto and Osaka at the other. Tokyo is the capital and largest city of a country of almost 123 million people. Hokkaido in the north and Okinawa in the south are different climates rather than day trips, and both need their own week.
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Morio · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photograph · Martin Falbisoner · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · Martin Falbisoner · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
52 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
伏見稲荷大社
Fushimi Inari Taisha is a Shinto shrine located in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. It serves as the head shrine of approximately 30,000 Inari shrines across Japan.
東福寺
Tofuku-ji is a Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple in southeastern Kyoto. Founded in 1236 by the statesman Kujo Michiie, it took its name from combining characters from Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji in Nara.
八坂神社
Yasaka Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Kyoto, Japan. It is also known as Gion Shrine. The shrine stands at the eastern end of Shijo-dori, a major thoroughfare in the city.
知恩院
Chion-in is a Jodo-shu Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. It serves as the headquarters of the Jodo-shu sect founded by Honen. The temple complex occupies a significant site on the slopes of Higashiyama.
北野天満宮
Kitano Tenmangu is a Shinto shrine in Kyoto, Japan, dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, a scholar and politician of the Heian period who was later deified as Tenjin, the god of learning.
高台寺
Kodaiji Temple is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto's Higashiyama district. It was established in 1606 by Kita-no-Mandokoro, also known as Nene, in memory of her husband Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the prominent unifier of Japan.
東本願寺
Higashi Hongan-ji is a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist temple in Kyoto, serving as the headquarters of the Otani-ha branch. Founded in 1602 by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, it was established to reduce the political influence of the original Hongan-ji faction.
根津神社
Nezu Shrine is a historic Shinto shrine in Tokyo’s Bunkyo ward and one of the city’s oldest surviving places of worship. The shrine is especially known for its azalea plantings, traditional architecture, ponds, stone lanterns and vermilion torii gates.
南禅寺
Nanzen-ji is a Zen Buddhist temple in eastern Kyoto, Japan. It stands as one of the most significant temples in the city's extensive religious landscape.
建仁寺
Kennin-ji is a historic Zen Buddhist temple located in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto, Japan. It stands as the oldest Zen temple in the city, having been founded in the early Kamakura period.
大徳寺
Daitoku-ji is a major Zen Buddhist temple complex in northern Kyoto, Japan. Founded in the fourteenth century, it belongs to the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen Buddhism.
本能寺
Honno-ji is a temple of the Nichiren Buddhist sect located in central Kyoto.
金龍山 浅草寺
Sensō-ji is a historic Buddhist temple located in the Asakusa district of Tokyo. It is widely recognized as the city's oldest temple, with origins traditionally traced to the seventh century.
大覚寺
Daikaku-ji is a Shingon Buddhist temple located in the Ukyo ward of Kyoto, Japan. The temple was originally constructed in the early ninth century as a detached palace for Emperor Saga before being converted into a religious institution.
妙心寺
Myoshin-ji is a major Zen Buddhist temple complex in western Kyoto. It serves as the head temple of the associated branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism.
六波羅蜜寺
Rokuharamitsu-ji is a historic Shingon Buddhist temple in Kyoto’s Higashiyama district. Its identity is rooted in religious practice and the long history of this eastern part of the city, where temples and traditional neighbourhoods stand close together.
平野神社
Hirano Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Kyoto, Japan. It holds historical significance as an ancient religious site with traditional architectural elements characteristic of Japanese shrine design.
松尾大社
Matsunoo Taisha is an ancient Shinto shrine in western Kyoto, near the Arashiyama area. Its origins predate the establishment of Heian-kyo, and its history is closely connected with the Hata clan, an important force in the early development of Kyoto.
青蓮院
Shoren-in is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto’s Higashiyama district and belongs to the Tendai sect.
愛宕念仏寺
Otagi Nenbutsu-ji is a Buddhist temple located in the Arashiyama district of western Kyoto. The temple sits in the foothills of Mount Ogura and is known for its collection of rakan statues, the disciples of Buddha.
泉涌寺
Sennyu-ji is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Kyoto’s eastern Higashiyama area, known for its long connection with the imperial household.
曼殊院
Manshu-in is a Tendai Buddhist sub-temple in northeastern Kyoto, valued for its quiet setting, traditional architecture, and dry landscape garden.
壬生寺
Mibu-dera is a Buddhist temple in central Kyoto and the headquarters of the Yōgyō school, a branch of the Risshū tradition.
日枝神社
Hie Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the Nagatacho district of central Tokyo, near the National Diet Building.
広隆寺
Koryu-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto’s Ukyo Ward and a fitting stop for travellers interested in the city’s long religious and artistic tradition.
大阪天満宮
Osaka Tenmangu Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Osaka, Japan. It ranks among the city's principal historic shrines and serves as the focus of the Tenjin Matsuri, one of Japan's major summer festivals.
三千院
Sanzen-in is a Tendai Buddhist temple located in Ohara, a rural district northeast of central Kyoto. It serves as the head temple of the Tendai sect's monzeki tradition, where imperial family members historically served as abbots.
詩仙堂丈山寺
Shisen-do is a Soto Zen temple in Kyoto’s Sakyo Ward, founded during the Edo period and shaped by the sensibilities of its scholar-founder.
智積院
Chishaku-in is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. It serves as the headquarters of the Shingon Buddhist Chizan sect. The temple occupies a significant position within Japanese religious architecture and cultural heritage.
鞍馬寺
Kurama-dera is a Buddhist temple located in the mountains north of Kyoto city proper. It sits on Mount Kurama at a significant elevation above the surrounding valley.
常寂光寺
Jojakko-ji is a Buddhist temple on the wooded slopes of Arashiyama in western Kyoto. Its buildings and paths follow the hillside, creating a visit that combines religious architecture, forest scenery and elevated views.
養源院
Yogen-in is a Buddhist temple located in Kyoto, Japan. The temple belongs to the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism and is associated with the larger Daitoku-ji temple complex in the northern part of the city.
頂法寺
Rokkakudo, formally Chohoji, is a Buddhist temple in central Kyoto near the Karasuma and Sanjo streets. Its common name refers to the hexagonal form associated with the main hall: rokkaku means six angles.
円光寺
Enko-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. The temple belongs to the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism and holds historical significance in the city's religious landscape.
難波八坂神社
Namba Yasaka Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the Namba district of Osaka, Japan. It is notable for its distinctive lion-head stage, which serves as the shrine's most recognizable feature.
愛宕神社
Atago Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the Minato ward of Tokyo, Japan. The shrine sits atop Atago Hill, which rises approximately 26 meters above sea level, making it one of the highest natural points in central Tokyo.
貴船神社
Kifune Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the mountainous northern outskirts of Kyoto, Japan.
藤森神社
Fujinomori Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Kyoto and a place where religious practice, traditional architecture and local cultural life meet. Visitors encounter an active sacred setting rather than a purely historical monument.
晴明神社
Seimei Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Kyoto dedicated to Abe no Seimei, the Heian-period onmyoji associated with traditional Japanese esoteric cosmology.
二尊院
Nison-in is a Buddhist temple situated in the Arashiyama district of western Kyoto, Japan. The temple belongs to the Obaku school of Zen Buddhism and holds historical significance dating back centuries.
清凉寺
Seiryo-ji is a Buddhist temple in Arashiyama, western Kyoto, and a useful stop for travellers exploring the district beyond its best-known paths.
梅宮大社
Umenomiya Taisha is a Shinto shrine in Kyoto and part of the city’s extensive religious heritage. It is a place of worship as well as a destination for visitors interested in Japanese shrine architecture and customs.
寂光院
Jakko-in is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, and a quiet religious destination within the city’s wider landscape of historic temples.
化野念仏寺
Adashino Nenbutsu-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto’s western Saga-Arashiyama area, known for its memorial field of stone figures.
圓徳院
Entoku-in is a Rinzai Zen sub-temple within the wider Kodai-ji complex in Kyoto’s Higashiyama district.
宝泉院
Hosen-in is a Buddhist temple in Ohara, a rural valley northeast of central Kyoto. The temple belongs to the Rinzai tradition of Zen Buddhism and is known for a garden centred on a prominent pine tree.
法善寺
Hozenji Temple is a compact Buddhist temple located in Osaka's Namba district, immediately adjacent to the famous Dotonbori entertainment area. The temple is best known for its moss-covered statue of Fudō Myōō, a wrathful deity in Japanese Buddhism.
赤山禅院
Sekizan Zen-in is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto and a place to include when your itinerary calls for religious heritage away from the city’s most familiar landmark circuit.
今熊野観音寺
Imakumano Kannon-ji is an active Shingon Buddhist temple in Kyoto, dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva associated with compassion.
祇王寺
Gio-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto’s Arashiyama district, associated with the Shingon school of Buddhism. Its character comes from scale and setting: the grounds sit within a quiet wooded landscape, away from the busiest paths of western Kyoto.
鈴虫寺
Suzumushi-dera is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. Its name translates to Bell Cricket Temple, derived from the insects kept on the grounds. The temple belongs to the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism.
城南宮
Jonangu Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in southern Kyoto, Japan. It is dedicated to the deified Emperor Nintoku and holds historical significance as a site associated with the protection of the capital.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·
Ten to fourteen days supports four or five days in Tokyo, three or four in Kyoto, and two or three in Osaka. Add Nara or Himeji only after those bases have enough time, and avoid turning every rail stop into a hotel change.
Japan's visa exemption or visa requirement depends on passport and travel purpose. Confirm the current rule through Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the embassy responsible for the traveller's residence.
The Tokaido Shinkansen links Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, while local rail and buses cover city travel. An IC card simplifies many local journeys but does not replace every reserved long-distance ticket, and luggage forwarding can reduce friction between bases.
March to May and October to November are broad options for the main-island route, with blossom and autumn periods creating concentrated demand. Confirm regional weather and reservations for the exact cities rather than assuming one national season behaves uniformly.
Japan uses the yen (JPY). Electronic payment is common but not universal, so carry some yen for smaller businesses, ticket machines, or rural transport without assuming that one stored-value card works for every purchase.
Japan's emergency numbers are 110 for police and 119 for fire or ambulance. Type A sockets operate at 100 V, which is lower than in the other wave-A countries, and mains tap water is recorded as safe.
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