THE 23 UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN JAPAN

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Itsukushima Shrine

Itsukushima Shinto Shrine The island of Itsukushima, in the Seto inland sea, has been a holy place of Shintoism since the earliest times. The first shrine buildings here were probably erected in the...

tourist attraction

place of worship

hiroshima

unescoworldheritage

miyajima

4.5

19002 reviews

Itsukushima Shrine

Shirakami Sanchi Visitor Center

Shirakami-Sanchi Situated in the mountains of northern Honshu, this trackless site includes the last virgin remains of the cool-temperate forest of Siebold's beech trees that once covered the hills ...

tourist attraction

unescoworldheritage

aomori

naturalsite

3.8

330 reviews

Shirakami Sanchi Visitor Center

Hōryū-ji Main Hall

Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area There are around 48 Buddhist monuments in the Horyu-ji area, in Nara Prefecture. Several date from the late 7th or early 8th century, making them some of the ...

place of worship

nara

unescoworldheritage

hōryū-ji

4.6

65 reviews

Hōryū-ji Main Hall

Mozu tombs

Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan Located on a plateau above the Osaka Plain, this property includes 49 kofun (“old mounds” in Japanese). These tombs were for members of the ...

tourist attraction

osaka

unescoworldheritage

mozu

kofun

4.1

209 reviews

Mozu tombs

Okinoshima

Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region Located 60 km off the western coast of Kyushu island, the island of Okinoshima is an exceptional example of the tradition of w...

fukuoka

unescoworldheritage

sacredisland

genkai

munakata

4.2

18 reviews

Okinoshima

Kii Mountains

Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range Set in the dense forests of the Kii Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean, three sacred sites – Yoshino and Omine, Kumano Sanzan, Koyas...

nara

unescoworldheritage

wakayama

mie

4.7

9 reviews

Kii Mountains

Nikkō Tōshō-gū

Shrines and Temples of Nikko The shrines and temples of Nikko, together with their natural surroundings, have for centuries been a sacred site known for its architectural and decorative masterpieces...

tourist attraction

place of worship

unescoworldheritage

nikko

4.5

17128 reviews

Nikkō Tōshō-gū

Mount Fuji

Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration The beauty of the solitary, often snow-capped, stratovolcano, known around the world as Mount Fuji, rising above villages and tree-fringed se...

fuji

yamanashi

shizuoka

unescoworldheritage

fujisan

4.5

5842 reviews

Mount Fuji

Gotō Islands

Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region Located in the north-western part of Kyushu island, this serial property consists of ten villages, remains of the Hara Castle and a cathedral, dating fr...

unescoworldheritage

nagasaki

Gotō Islands

Himeji Castle

Himeji-jo Himeji-jo is the finest surviving example of early 17th-century Japanese castle architecture, comprising 83 buildings with highly developed systems of defence and ingenious protection devi...

tourist attraction

unescoworldheritage

hyogo

himeji

4.6

23212 reviews

Himeji Castle

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) was the only structure left standing in the area where the first atomic bomb exploded on 6 August 1945. Through th...

tourist attraction

museum

hiroshima

unescoworldheritage

genbaku

4.6

11947 reviews

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Shirakawa-go

Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama Located in a mountainous region that was cut off from the rest of the world for a long period of time, these villages with their Gassho-style houses su...

tourist attraction

park

japan

unescoworldheritage

gifu

4.5

22274 reviews

Shirakawa-go

Kyoto

Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji, Nijo-jo Kiyomizudera, Byodoin etc... Built in A.D. 794 on the model of the capitals of ancient China, Kyoto w...

city

unescoworldheritage

Kyoto

Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara

Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784. During this period the framework of national government was consolidated and Nara enjoyed great prosperity, emerging...

tourist attraction

nara

unescoworldheritage

todai-ji

kofuku-ji

Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara

Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine

Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine in the south-west of Honshu Island is a cluster of mountains, rising to 600 m and interspersed by deep river valleys ...

tourist attraction

unescoworldheritage

shimane

iwami

mine

802 reviews

Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine

National Museum of Western Art

The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement Chosen from the work of Le Corbusier, the 17 sites comprising this transnational serial property are spread...

tourist attraction

museum

tokyo

unescoworldheritage

westernart

4.4

5336 reviews

National Museum of Western Art

Tomioka Silk Mill

Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites This property is a historic sericulture and silk mill complex established in the late 19th and early 20th century in the Gunma prefecture, north-west of Tokyo. It...

tourist attraction

unescoworldheritage

gunma

tomioka

3.8

6838 reviews

Tomioka Silk Mill

Ogasawara

Ogasawara Islands The property numbers more than 30 islands clustered in three groups and covers surface area of 7,939 hectares. The islands offer a variety of landscapes and are home to a wealth of...

tokyo

island

unescoworldheritage

naturalsite

ogasawara

Ogasawara

Shiretoko Peninsula

Shiretoko Shiretoko Peninsula is located in the north-east of Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. The site includes the land from the central part of the peninsula to its tip (Shiretoko Cape...

hokkaido

unescoworldheritage

naturalsite

shiretoko

4.6

25 reviews

Shiretoko Peninsula

Yakushima Island

Yakushima Located in the interior of Yaku Island, at the meeting-point of the palaearctic and oriental biotic regions, Yakushima exhibits a rich flora, with some 1,900 species and subspecies, includ...

unescoworldheritage

naturalsite

kagoshima

yakushima

4.6

442 reviews

Yakushima Island

Hashima Island

Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining The site encompasses a series of twenty three component parts, mainly located in the southwest of Japan. It...

unescoworldheritage

meijiindustrialrevolution

3.9

1025 reviews

Hashima Island

Shurijo Castle

Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu The related sites are (Seifa-Utaki, Zakimi-jô, Nakijin-jô, Katsuren-jô, Shuri-jô, Tamaudun, Sonohyan-Utaki-Ishimon and Shikinaen ) Five h...

tourist attraction

unescoworldheritage

okinawa

ryukyu

4.2

22515 reviews

Shurijo Castle

Hiraizumi

Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land Hiraizumi - Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land comprises five sit...

city

unescoworldheritage

iwate

Hiraizumi

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