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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Honno-ji is a temple of the Nichiren Buddhist sect located in central Kyoto.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Matsunoo Taisha is a Shinto shrine in Kyoto, Japan, with ancient origins predating the founding of Heian-kyo.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hie Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the Nagatacho district of central Tokyo, near the National Diet Building.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
.jpg){kind=link}
