Every Place in the Catalogue
1,610 spots
Zenkoji Temple
Well knownZenkoji Temple (善光寺) guards Japan's first Buddhist statue, a golden Amida triad carried from Korea in 552 AD. The statue…
Myoryuji Ninja Temple
Well knownMyoryuji Temple (妙立寺), nicknamed the 'Ninja Temple' (忍者寺, Ninja-dera), is a seemingly modest Buddhist temple concealing…
Kanazawa Castle Park
Well knownKanazawa Castle (金沢城) was the seat of the powerful Maeda clan from 1583 to 1868, ruling the Kaga Domain — the wealthiest…
Senmaida Rice Terraces
Well knownShiroyone Senmaida (白米千枚田, 'White Rice Thousand Terraces') is a UNESCO World Heritage site comprising 1,004 small rice p…
Nagamachi Samurai District
Well knownNagamachi (長町) is Kanazawa's former samurai district where middle-ranking samurai of the Kaga Domain lived during the Ed…
Omicho Market
Well knownOmicho Market (近江町市場, Omicho Ichiba) is Kanazawa's central food market, operating for 290+ years as the city's primary s…
Illustration — not a photographKanazawa Gold Leaf
Well knownKanazawa produces 99% of Japan's gold leaf (金箔, kinpaku), a craft perfected over 450 years. Gold leaf production began i…
Higashi Chaya District
Well knownHigashi Chaya (東茶屋街, 'Eastern Geisha District') is Kanazawa's most beautifully preserved geisha quarter, with two-story…
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
Well knownThe 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (金沢21世紀美術館) is a revolutionary circular museum building designed by architec…
Kumano Kodo Iseji Route
Well knownThe Kumano Kodo (熊野古道) is a network of UNESCO World Heritage pilgrimage trails crossing the Kii Peninsula to reach the s…
Ama Divers of Ise-Shima
Well knownAma divers work the water the way their mothers and grandmothers did—no tanks, no wetsuits thick enough to matter, just…
Matsusaka Beef
Well knownMatsusaka beef doesn't just melt in your mouth—the phrase gets overused, but here it's literally accurate. At proper ser…
Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Trails
Well knownThe Kumano Kodo is 70 kilometers of stone path through the Kii Mountains, connecting Kyoto to the three Kumano Sanzan sh…
Enryakuji Temple
Well knownEnryakuji Temple (延暦寺) is a sprawling Buddhist monastery complex atop Mt. Hiei (848m), straddling the border between Kyo…
Yoshino Mikumari Shrine
Well knownYoshino Mikumari Shrine (吉野水分神社) is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Mikumari-no-Kami (水分神), the deity of water distribution…
Heijo Palace Site
Well knownHeijo Palace (平城宮跡, Heijo-kyo) was the imperial palace during Nara's time as Japan's capital (710–784 AD), occupying 120…
Toshodaiji Temple
Well knownWhen the Chinese monk Jianzhen finally reached Japan in 754 AD after five shipwrecks, pirate attacks, and twelve years a…
Illustration — not a photographGangoji Temple
Well knownGangoji (元興寺) is one of Nara's Seven Great Temples and Japan's oldest temple, originally founded in 588 AD in Asuka befo…
Ukimido Pavilion
Well knownUkimido (浮見堂, 'Floating Pavilion') is a hexagonal pavilion built on stilts over Sagi-ike Pond in Nara Park's southern ar…
Yakushiji Temple
Well knownYakushiji (薬師寺) is a UNESCO World Heritage temple founded in 680 AD, famous for its twin pagodas flanking the Main Hall…
Horyuji Temple
Well knownHoryuji (法隆寺) is a UNESCO World Heritage temple containing the world's oldest surviving wooden structures — the Main Hal…
Mount Yoshino
Well knownYoshino's 30,000 cherry trees bloom in four elevation zones called senbon (千本, 'thousand trees') — Shimo, Naka, Kami, an…
Kofukuji Temple
Well knownKofukuji (興福寺) is a UNESCO World Heritage temple founded in 669 AD as the clan temple of the powerful Fujiwara family, s…
Himeji Tegai Yaki Anagomeshi
Well knownAnagomeshi (穴子飯) is Himeji's ekiben (station bento) specialty — grilled saltwater eel (anago, 穴子) over seasoned rice in…
Estimated from distance to the nearest airport or shinkansen station. Confirm actual journey times before you travel.