# 20 classic places to visit in Japan

The sights that keep topping Jalan and other Japanese travel rankings, from Hokkaido to Okinawa.

- 311 votes · 21 items
- Mar 1, 2026 · Hina Mori
- https://even.best/en/l/125/20-classic-places-to-visit-in-japan

## Top 20

1. **Mount Fuji (Yamanashi/Shizuoka)** (29 · ▲32 ▼3) — Japan's highest peak at 3,776 m, a World Cultural Heritage Site since 2013.
2. **Fushimi Inari Taisha (Kyoto)** (26 · ▲27 ▼1) — Head shrine of all Inari shrines, known for its thousands of torii gates.
3. **Itsukushima Shrine (Hiroshima)** (23 · ▲23 ▼0) — World Heritage shrine on Miyajima, famous for its 'floating' torii gate in the sea.
4. **Kiyomizu-dera (Kyoto)** (18 · ▲20 ▼2) — World Heritage temple famous for its wooden stage.
5. **Himeji Castle (Hyogo)** (13 · ▲15 ▼2) — The 'White Heron Castle', an original keep and National Treasure; among Japan's first World Heritage Sites (1993).
6. **Nara Park and Tōdai-ji (Nara)** (12 · ▲14 ▼2) — Park home to about 1,300 deer and Tōdai-ji, temple of the Great Buddha of Nara.
7. **Sensō-ji (Tokyo)** (11 · ▲12 ▼1) — Tokyo's oldest temple, known for the Kaminarimon gate and Nakamise street.
8. **Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (Okinawa)** (10 · ▲12 ▼2) — Aquarium famous for its giant Kuroshio Sea tank with whale sharks. <https://churaumi.okinawa/>
9. **Mount Hakodate (Hokkaido)** (10 · ▲12 ▼2) — One of Japan's three great night views.
10. **Biei and Furano (Hokkaido)** (8 · ▲11 ▼3) — Summer lavender fields, rolling hills and Biei's Blue Pond.
11. **Dōgo Onsen (Ehime)** (8 · ▲9 ▼1) — One of Japan's oldest hot springs; the 1894 main building is said to have inspired Spirited Away.
12. **Matsushima (Miyagi)** (7 · ▲12 ▼5) — One of Japan's Three Views, with over 260 pine-clad islets.
13. **Nikkō Tōshō-gū (Tochigi)** (7 · ▲9 ▼2) — Shrine to Tokugawa Ieyasu, famous for the three wise monkeys and the Yōmeimon gate.
14. **Shirakawa-gō (Gifu)** (7 · ▲7 ▼0) — World Heritage mountain village of thatched gasshō-zukuri farmhouses.
15. **Yakushima (Kagoshima)** (7 · ▲7 ▼0) — World Natural Heritage island with the thousands-of-years-old Jōmon Sugi cedar.
16. **Dōtonbori (Osaka)** (6 · ▲7 ▼1) — Osaka's neon food district, famous for the Glico running man sign.
17. **Hakone (Kanagawa)** (5 · ▲9 ▼4) — Hot-spring resort known for Lake Ashi's pirate ships and Ōwakudani's black eggs.
18. **Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Park (Hiroshima)** (3 · ▲10 ▼7) — World Heritage ruin and museum bearing witness to the 1945 atomic bombing.
19. **Kinkaku-ji (Kyoto)** (2 · ▲7 ▼5) — Kyoto's golden pavilion reflected in its pond.
20. **Takachiho Gorge (Miyazaki)** (0 · ▲4 ▼4) — Basalt-column gorge where you row past the Manai Falls.
21. **Kenroku-en (Ishikawa)** (-1 · ▲2 ▼3) — Kanazawa's feudal garden, one of Japan's three great gardens.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.