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.
100 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
本殿
Meiji Jingū is a Shinto shrine in Tokyo dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken. The shrine occupies a forested area within the dense metropolis.
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.
ニコライ堂
Holy Resurrection Cathedral, known locally as Nikolai-do, is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Tokyo. The local name ニコライ堂 derives from its dedication to Saint Nicholas of Japan, who introduced Orthodox Christianity to Japan in the nineteenth century.
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, among the city's oldest surviving places of worship. The local name is 根津神社.
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.
三井寺（園城寺）
Mii-dera Temple, locally known as Onjo-ji, is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, near Kyoto. It stands as one of the four principal temples of the Tendai school.
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.
南座
Minami-za, known locally as 南座, is a historic kabuki theatre located in Kyoto, Japan. It is recognized as the oldest extant kabuki theatre in Japan, with origins dating to the early Edo period.
石清水八幡宮
Iwashimizu Hachimangū is a Shinto shrine in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Its local name is 石清水八幡宮. The shrine appears in OpenStreetMap data as node 2484765205 and holds a Wikidata entry at Q710098.
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.
寛永寺
六波羅蜜寺
Rokuharamitsu-ji is a Buddhist temple located in Kyoto, Japan. The temple belongs to the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism. It sits in the Higashiyama district, an area known for its concentration of historic temples and cultural sites.
總持寺
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.
神護寺
Jingo-ji Temple is a historic Buddhist temple located in Kyoto, Japan. Its local name is 神護寺. The temple holds significance within Japanese religious and cultural heritage.
松尾大社
Matsunoo Taisha is a Shinto shrine in Kyoto, Japan, with ancient origins predating the founding of Heian-kyo.
青蓮院
Shoren-in is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, belonging to the Tendai sect. It serves as one of the monzeki temples, historically led by members of the imperial family.
護国寺
方廣寺
Hōkō-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, bearing the local name 方廣寺. The temple holds historical significance in Japanese religious heritage. Its Wikidata entry Q1045971 identifies it as a documented cultural site.
萬福寺
Manpuku-ji Temple, known locally as 萬福寺, is a Zen Buddhist temple located in Kyoto, Japan. It serves as the head temple of the Obaku school of Zen Buddhism, which has Chinese origins.
相国寺
Shōkoku-ji Temple, known locally as 相国寺, is a Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1382 by the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, it belongs to the Five Great Zen Temples of Kyoto system.
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.
善峯寺
Yoshimine-dera Temple, known locally as 善峯寺, is a Buddhist temple situated in Kyoto, Japan. The temple belongs to the Tendai sect of Japanese Buddhism and occupies a mountainside location in the western outskirts of the city.
三宝院
泉涌寺
Sennyu-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Shingon sect and holds imperial connections as a monzeki temple, meaning its abbots were traditionally members of the imperial family.
吉田神社
金戒光明寺
曼殊院
Manshu-in is a sub-temple of the Tendai Buddhist sect located in northeastern Kyoto. The temple is known for its distinctive dry landscape garden and traditional architecture.
新国立劇場
東京ジャーミー
法観寺
池上本門寺
壬生寺
Mibu-dera is a Buddhist temple located in Kyoto, Japan. The temple holds historical significance as the headquarters of the Yōgyō school, a branch of the Risshū tradition.
真正極楽寺
東京カテドラル聖マリア大聖堂
日枝神社
Hie Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the Nagatacho district of central Tokyo, near the National Diet Building.
大報恩寺
広隆寺
Koryu-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. It stands among the city's historic religious sites with long-standing cultural significance. The temple belongs to the Shingon sect and occupies a position in the Ukyo Ward area.
西宮神社
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.
神泉苑
豊国神社
湯島聖堂
国立能楽堂
国立文楽劇場
北村美術館
奏樂堂
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 Buddhist temple of the Soto Zen sect located in Kyoto's Sakyo Ward. It was established in the Edo period and is known for its hermitage-style architecture and notable gardens.
東禅寺
サントリーホール
TOKYO DOME CITY HALL
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.
大仙院
今宮神社
建勲神社
近江神宮
総見院
宇治神社
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.
湯島天満宮
常寂光寺
Jojakko-ji is a Buddhist temple situated on the slopes of Arashiyama's mountains in western Kyoto. The temple belongs to the Honzan Shugen sect of Buddhism and occupies a hillside position that affords views across the city and surrounding forested terrain.
隨心院
NHKホール
渋谷公会堂
東京芸術劇場
勧修寺
聚光院
水無瀬神宮
総本山 聖護院門跡
忠犬ハチ公像
東京宝塚劇場
永観堂 禅林寺
川崎大師
柴又帝釈天
赤坂ACTシアター
東京文化会館
法金剛院
とげぬき地蔵尊 高岩寺
黄梅院
龍源院
退蔵院
Daiun-in;Daiun-In Temple
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 is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, formally known as Chohoji. It occupies a distinctive hexagonal footprint that gives the temple its common name, as rokkaku means six angles or hexagon.
八坂庚申堂
ダールルアルカム・マスジド
泉岳寺
FCGビル
京都コンサートホール
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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