A photograph of Japan

Country guide

Places to visit in Japan — page 8

Around three quarters of Japan is mountain and forest, which pushes almost everyone onto the eastern coastal plains and makes the country far narrower in practi...

Photograph · Midori · CC BY 3.0

47,395 Places
3Cities

Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor

Around three quarters of Japan is mountain and forest, which pushes almost everyone onto the eastern coastal plains and makes the country far narrower in practice than 377,975 km2 suggests. Forty-seven prefectures, eight traditional regions and more than 14,000 smaller islands, and yet a first visit usually runs along a single rail corridor with Tokyo at one end and Kyoto and Osaka at the other. Tokyo is the capital and largest city of a country of almost 123 million people. Hokkaido in the north and Okinawa in the south are different climates rather than day trips, and both need their own week.

Checked 2026-08-25

Cities

Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.

Practical information

Language spoken
Japanese
National practical orientation; regional and minority languages may also be used
Dialling code
+81
International calling code; local area and mobile prefixes still apply
Currency
Japanese yen (JPY)
Use the official local currency; card acceptance varies by place
Emergency number
110 police · 119 fire and ambulance
Use only for an emergency; tourist assistance may use a separate number
Plug type
Type A · 100 V
Check that chargers support the recorded voltage before using an adapter
Tap water
Safe from the mains
JNTO states that tap water is safe to drink

Top things to see

Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.

  1. Tokyo Water Science Museum Tokyo Water Science Museum
    176 1 hr 30 min

    Tokyo Water Science Museum

    水の科学館

    The Tokyo Water Science Museum is a public educational facility in Tokyo’s Koto ward operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Waterworks. It explains how water is supplied, purified, and distributed across a vast urban area.

    • High
    • Museum
    • Tokyo
  2. Amagasaki Cultural Center Amagasaki Cultural Center
    177 1 hour

    Amagasaki Cultural Center

    尼崎市総合文化センター

    Amagasaki Cultural Center, known locally as 尼崎市総合文化センター, is a municipal cultural facility serving Amagasaki in Hyogo Prefecture, within the greater Osaka metropolitan area. The center brings public performance, arts activity, and community gathering into one civic venue.

    • High
    • Art and culture venue
    • Osaka
  3. Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple
    178 30 min

    Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple

    化野念仏寺

    Adashino Nenbutsu-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto’s western Saga-Arashiyama area, known for its memorial field of stone figures.

    • High
    • Place of worship
    • Kyoto
  4. Hōraku-ji Temple Hōraku-ji Temple
    179 30 min

    Hōraku-ji Temple

    法楽寺

    Hōraku-ji Temple, written 法楽寺 in Japanese, is a Buddhist temple in Osaka. It provides a place for contemplation within the city and belongs to Osaka’s wider religious and cultural landscape.

    • High
    • Place of worship
    • Osaka
  5. Namba Shrine Namba Shrine
    180 30 min

    Namba Shrine

    難波神社

    Namba Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Osaka's Namba district, where traditional religious architecture stands among shopping, dining and entertainment streets. Known locally as 難波神社, it offers a quieter cultural pause within one of the city's most active urban areas.

    • High
    • Place of worship
    • Osaka
  6. Entoku-in Entoku-in
    181 30 min

    Entoku-in

    圓徳院

    Entoku-in is a Rinzai Zen sub-temple within the wider Kodai-ji complex in Kyoto’s Higashiyama district.

    • High
    • Place of worship
    • Kyoto
  7. Honkō-ji Temple Honkō-ji Temple
    182 30 min

    Honkō-ji Temple

    本興寺

    Honkō-ji Temple, written 本興寺 in Japanese, is a Buddhist temple in Osaka. It is an active religious place as well as a point of interest for travelers interested in the city’s temples, architecture, and spiritual landscape.

    • High
    • Place of worship
    • Osaka
  8. Buson Park Buson Park
    183 1 hour

    Buson Park

    蕪村公園

    Buson Park, known locally as 蕪村公園, is a public park in Osaka named after Yosa Buson, the celebrated Edo-period poet and painter. The park belongs to Osaka’s network of urban green spaces and offers a quieter setting within the city.

    • High
    • Nature site
    • Osaka
  9. Hōsen-in Temple Hōsen-in Temple
    184 30 min

    Hōsen-in Temple

    宝泉院

    Hosen-in is a Buddhist temple in Ohara, a rural valley northeast of central Kyoto. The temple belongs to the Rinzai tradition of Zen Buddhism and is known for a garden centred on a prominent pine tree.

    • High
    • Place of worship
    • Kyoto
  10. Hōzen-ji Temple Hōzen-ji Temple
    185 30 min

    Hōzen-ji Temple

    法善寺

    Hozenji Temple is a compact Buddhist temple located in Osaka's Namba district, immediately adjacent to the famous Dotonbori entertainment area. The temple is best known for its moss-covered statue of Fudō Myōō, a wrathful deity in Japanese Buddhism.

    • High
    • Place of worship
    • Osaka
  11. Sekizan Zen-in Sekizan Zen-in
    186 30 min

    Sekizan Zen-in

    赤山禅院

    Sekizan Zen-in is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto and a place to include when your itinerary calls for religious heritage away from the city’s most familiar landmark circuit.

    • High
    • Place of worship
    • Kyoto
  12. Sumida Aquarium Sumida Aquarium
    187 1 hr 30 min

    Sumida Aquarium

    すみだ水族館

    Sumida Aquarium is a contemporary urban aquarium inside Tokyo Skytree Town in Sumida Ward. It forms part of the Oshiage destination alongside Tokyo Skytree and the Solamachi shopping complex.

    • High
    • Family attraction
    • Tokyo
  13. 吹田市文化会館 メイシアター 吹田市文化会館 メイシアター
    188 1 hour

    吹田市文化会館 メイシアター

    Suita City Cultural Hall Meishiya Theater is a municipal performing-arts venue in Suita City, Osaka Prefecture. It supports the area’s cultural life through theater, music, dance, and community events.

    • Notable
    • Art and culture venue
    • Osaka
  14. Imakumano Kannon-ji Temple Imakumano Kannon-ji Temple
    189 30 min

    Imakumano Kannon-ji Temple

    今熊野観音寺

    Imakumano Kannon-ji is an active Shingon Buddhist temple in Kyoto, dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva associated with compassion.

    • Notable
    • Place of worship
    • Kyoto
  15. Kakuman-ji Temple Kakuman-ji Temple
    190 30 min

    Kakuman-ji Temple

    鶴満寺

    Kakuman-ji Temple, known in Japanese as 鶴満寺, is a named Buddhist temple in Osaka. The mapped way identifies a specific local place of worship, not a generic category label.

    • Notable
    • Place of worship
    • Osaka
  16. Sunshine Aquarium Sunshine Aquarium
    191 1 hr 30 min

    Sunshine Aquarium

    サンシャイン国際水族館

    Sunshine Aquarium is an urban aquarium located within the Sunshine City complex in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo. The facility is operated as a commercial attraction within a major shopping and entertainment destination.

    • Notable
    • Family attraction
    • Tokyo
  17. teamLab Borderless teamLab Borderless
    192 1 hr 30 min

    teamLab Borderless

    teamLab Borderless Museum

    teamLab Borderless is a digital art museum in Tokyo created by the interdisciplinary art collective teamLab. The permanent installation occupies a substantial indoor space and presents immersive artworks that dissolve boundaries between visitor and art, and between individual works.

    • Notable
    • Museum
    • Tokyo
  18. Tokyo Dome City Tokyo Dome City
    193 2 hours

    Tokyo Dome City

    東京ドームシティ

    Tokyo Dome City is a large entertainment complex in Bunkyo Ward, central Tokyo, built around the Tokyo Dome baseball stadium. The site combines sports facilities, amusement attractions, dining, shopping, and accommodation in one district.

    • Notable
    • Activity
    • Tokyo
  19. Daimotsu Park Daimotsu Park
    194 1 hour

    Daimotsu Park

    大物公園

    Omono Park, written 大物公園 in Japanese, is a public green space in Osaka. It offers a simple outdoor pause within the city, giving residents and visitors room to walk, rest, and experience a neighborhood park atmosphere.

    • Notable
    • Nature site
    • Osaka
  20. Osaka Fureai no Mizube
    195 1 hour

    Osaka Fureai no Mizube

    大阪ふれあいの水辺(砂浜ゾーン)

    Osaka Fureai no Mizube is an urban waterside recreation area whose local name identifies a sandy beach zone: 大阪ふれあいの水辺(砂浜ゾーン). It brings a beach-like setting into Osaka’s city environment and gives visitors a place to pause beside the water.

    • Notable
    • Nature site
    • Osaka
  21. Ameya-Yokochō Ameya-Yokochō
    196 45 min

    Ameya-Yokochō

    アメヤ横丁

    Ameya-Yokochō, known locally as アメヤ横丁, is an open-air market district situated near Ueno Station in Tokyo. The area occupies space beneath the elevated Yamanote Line tracks and extends across multiple streets and alleys.

    • Notable
    • Market
    • Tokyo
  22. Giō-ji Giō-ji
    197 30 min

    Giō-ji

    祇王寺

    Gio-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto’s Arashiyama district, associated with the Shingon school of Buddhism. Its character comes from scale and setting: the grounds sit within a quiet wooded landscape, away from the busiest paths of western Kyoto.

    • Notable
    • Place of worship
    • Kyoto
  23. Kegon-ji Temple Kegon-ji Temple
    198 30 min

    Kegon-ji Temple

    鈴虫寺

    Suzumushi-dera is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. Its name translates to Bell Cricket Temple, derived from the insects kept on the grounds. The temple belongs to the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism.

    • Notable
    • Place of worship
    • Kyoto
  24. Nishiki Market Nishiki Market
    199 1 hour

    Nishiki Market

    錦市場

    Nishiki Market is a covered shopping street, not a building and not an attraction with a gate.

    • Notable
    • Market
    • Kyoto
  25. Raku Museum Raku Museum
    200 1 hr 30 min

    Raku Museum

    樂美術館

    The Raku Museum in Kyoto is devoted to the Raku tradition of Japanese ceramics.

    • Notable
    • Museum
    • Kyoto

Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·

Common questions

How long should a first trip to Japan be?

Ten to fourteen days supports four or five days in Tokyo, three or four in Kyoto, and two or three in Osaka. Add Nara or Himeji only after those bases have enough time, and avoid turning every rail stop into a hotel change.

What entry documents are needed for Japan?

Japan's visa exemption or visa requirement depends on passport and travel purpose. Confirm the current rule through Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the embassy responsible for the traveller's residence.

What is the best way to travel around Japan?

The Tokaido Shinkansen links Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, while local rail and buses cover city travel. An IC card simplifies many local journeys but does not replace every reserved long-distance ticket, and luggage forwarding can reduce friction between bases.

When is a practical time to visit Japan?

March to May and October to November are broad options for the main-island route, with blossom and autumn periods creating concentrated demand. Confirm regional weather and reservations for the exact cities rather than assuming one national season behaves uniformly.

What money and payment basics apply in Japan?

Japan uses the yen (JPY). Electronic payment is common but not universal, so carry some yen for smaller businesses, ticket machines, or rural transport without assuming that one stored-value card works for every purchase.

What practical safety details should I save for Japan?

Japan's emergency numbers are 110 for police and 119 for fire or ambulance. Type A sockets operate at 100 V, which is lower than in the other wave-A countries, and mains tap water is recorded as safe.