Things to do in Japan

museum · naoshima

Chichu Art Museum, Naoshima: Tadao Andō's Underground Concrete Cathedral for Three Artists

The Tadao Andō-designed museum built entirely underground on Naoshima, holding permanent Monet, Walter De Maria, and James Turrell installations — and a defining stop on the Seto Inland Sea art-island circuit.

temple · hiraizumi

Chūson-ji Konjikidō: Hiraizumi's 12th-Century Gold-Leaf Buddhist Hall

The Heian-era Pure Land Buddhist hall built 1124 — entirely gold-leafed inside and out, holding three original Buddhist sculptures and the mummified remains of the Fujiwara clan.

experience · himeji

Himeji Castle: Japan's Best-Preserved Original Castle Keep, 60 Minutes West of Osaka

Japan's best-preserved original feudal castle keep — a 1601–1609 wooden complex that survived the Meiji-era castle clearance and WWII bombing. UNESCO World Heritage, 60 minutes west of Osaka.

nature · hakodate

Mt. Hakodate Ropeway and Night View: Hokkaido's Most Photographed City Panorama

The 334-metre headland over the Hakodate harbour, the cable car up, and the city's pinched isthmus-shaped night view — one of Japan's three officially named great night views.

temple · koya

Mt. Kōya (Kōyasan): Japan's Living Shingon Buddhist Mountain

The 1,200-year-old Shingon Buddhist temple complex on Mt. Kōya — the Okunoin lantern cemetery, the Garan ceremonial centre, the shukubō temple stay, and the only way to do it right.

temple · nikko

Nikkō Tōshōgū: Tokugawa Ieyasu's Mausoleum and Japan's Most Decorated Shrine Complex

The 17th-century mountain-shrine complex enshrining Tokugawa Ieyasu — UNESCO World Heritage, gold-leaf carvings, the Sleeping Cat, the Crying Dragon, and the most lavishly decorated shrine architecture in Japan.

temple · tokyo

Sensō-ji Temple, Asakusa

Tokyo's oldest Buddhist temple, a first stop for many visitors.

In active development

temple · yamadera

Yamadera (Risshaku-ji): The 1015-Step Cliff Temple Bashō Wrote About

The 9th-century Tendai Buddhist mountainside temple in Yamagata Prefecture — built into the cliff face above the village, climbed by 1015 stone steps, immortalised by Bashō's 1689 cicada haiku.

temple · matsushima

Zuiganji Temple, Matsushima: The Date Clan's Zen Temple Behind the Pine-Island Bay

Matsushima's headline Zen temple — a Date Masamune-rebuilt 1609 complex, cedar-lined approach path, cave-niche side route, and gold-screened main hall. UNESCO-adjacent through the Matsushima Bay scenic designation.