Attraction
1. Fushimi Inari Taisha
The head shrine of the Inari deity, founded in 711, famous for the thousands of vermilion torii gates that climb the wooded slopes of Mount Inari.
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2. Osaka Castle
Osaka's rebuilt castle keep, first raised by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 1580s, now a history museum with an eighth-floor lookout over a large moated park.
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3. Senso-ji
Tokyo's oldest and most visited Buddhist temple, reached through the Kaminarimon gate and the shop-lined Nakamise approach in historic Asakusa.
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4. Kiyomizu-dera
A hillside temple on Mount Otowa with a wooden stage jutting out over the trees, dedicated to an eleven-faced Kannon and part of Kyoto's UNESCO World Heritage listing.
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5. Meiji Jingu
A major Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, set in a large man-made forest beside Harajuku and Yoyogi Park.
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6. Universal Studios Japan
Universal's theme park on Osaka Bay, opened in 2001 and home to Super Nintendo World, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Minion Park.
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7. Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)
Officially Rokuon-ji, this Zen temple is known for its gold-leaf pavilion reflected in the Mirror Pond, a faithful 1955 reconstruction of the shogun Yoshimitsu's retreat.
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8. Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
A large aquarium at Tempozan, opened in 1990, built around a deep Pacific Ocean tank with whale sharks and a route that descends from the eighth floor.
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9. Tokyo National Museum
Japan's oldest national museum, founded in 1872, with a vast collection of Japanese and Asian art and archaeology across several galleries in Ueno Park.
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10. Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion)
Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa's fifteenth-century retreat in the eastern hills, with a restrained two-storey Kannon hall, sculpted sand gardens and a moss-covered hillside walk.
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11. Imperial Palace East Gardens
The public gardens of the Imperial Palace, laid out on the Honmaru and Ninomaru grounds of the former Edo Castle in central Tokyo.
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12. Umeda Sky Building
Twin 40-storey towers joined at the top by the Kuchu Teien Observatory, with a 360-degree open-air rooftop deck open until late evening.
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13. Nijo Castle
Built for the Tokugawa shoguns in the early 1600s, this moated castle holds the Ninomaru Palace with its painted screens and chirping nightingale floors.
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14. Shitennoji Temple
Founded by Prince Shotoku in 593 and regarded as Japan's first official Buddhist temple, with a five-storey pagoda, treasure museum and garden.
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15. Tokyo Skytree
At 634 metres, Japan's tallest tower, with observation decks at 350 and 450 metres offering sweeping views across Tokyo and, on clear days, Mount Fuji.
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16. Kyoto Imperial Palace
The residence of Japan's emperors until 1869, set inside the wide lawns and woods of Kyoto Gyoen and open to the public free of charge.
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17. Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
A 58-hectare national garden in Shinjuku combining Japanese, English landscape and French formal styles, famed for around 1,500 cherry trees.
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18. Sumiyoshi Taisha
The head shrine of Japan's Sumiyoshi shrines, with four National Treasure sanctuaries and the steeply arched Sorihashi bridge over its pond.
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19. Ryoan-ji
A Zen temple founded in 1450 whose walled garden of fifteen stones set in raked white gravel is the best-known dry landscape garden in Japan.
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20. teamLab Planets TOKYO
An immersive digital art museum in Toyosu where visitors walk barefoot through water-filled rooms and light installations by the art collective teamLab.
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