Country guide
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
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
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Morio · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photograph · Martin Falbisoner · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · Martin Falbisoner · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
278 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
高浜神社
Takahama Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, known locally as 高浜神社. It serves as a place of worship and community gathering in the northern Osaka metropolitan area.
富島神社
Tomishima Shrine, known locally as 富島神社, is a Shinto shrine in Osaka. It offers a small sacred setting within the city, where visitors can encounter a form of Japanese religious practice alongside ordinary urban streets.
土佐稲荷神社
Tosa Inari Shrine is a Shinto place of worship in Osaka, known locally as 土佐稲荷神社. The shrine belongs to the Inari tradition, whose central figure is associated with rice, fertility, prosperity, and worldly success.
黒門市場
Kuromon Ichiba is a covered shopping street in Nipponbashi, Chuo-ku, in the Minami half of central Osaka. Its own market office gives the address as 2-4-1 Nipponbashi and describes a roofed market stretching about 580 metres with roughly 150 shops.
日本武道館
Nippon Budokan is a renowned indoor arena located in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, adjacent to the Imperial Palace grounds. Opened in 1964 for the Tokyo Olympic Games, it was originally constructed to host judo competitions.
明治神宮野球場
Meiji Jingu Stadium is a historic baseball venue in central Tokyo, beside the Meiji Jingu Outer Garden.
有明アリーナ
Ariake Arena is an event venue in Tokyo's Koto ward, not a museum with a standing sightseeing ticket. It hosted volleyball at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and wheelchair basketball at the Paralympics.
東京体育館
Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium is a major sports complex in Sendagaya, within Shibuya Ward. It is a working venue for athletic competitions, training and public recreation rather than a conventional sightseeing museum.
豊洲 千客万来
Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai is a commercial facility in the Toyosu district of Tokyo, developed in connection with the relocation of the historic Tsukiji Market. The name evokes traditional hospitality, suggesting a place welcoming many visitors.
千鳥ヶ淵
Chidorigafuchi Moat is a historic waterway on the northwestern edge of the Imperial Palace grounds, forming part of the former Edo Castle fortifications. Its name refers to a shape associated with a thousand birds.
円頓寺
Endonji is a neighborhood commercial area in Osaka, known by the Japanese name 円頓寺. Its character comes from everyday urban life: local shops, food businesses, residents, and streets designed for regular community use.
八幡神社
Hachiman Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Osaka, known locally as 八幡神社. It is dedicated to Hachiman, a deity traditionally associated with warriors and protection.
浄教寺
浄教寺, presented in English as Jokoji, is a Buddhist temple in Osaka. It belongs to the city’s network of religious places and offers travellers a chance to encounter a quieter, more local side of urban Japan.
慶善寺
Keizen-ji, written 慶善寺, is a Buddhist temple in Osaka. It belongs to the city’s broad landscape of religious sites, where places of worship remain woven into ordinary urban neighborhoods.
光明寺
Kōmyō-ji is a Buddhist temple in Osaka, identified locally by the name 光明寺. It is an active religious place within the city, offering travelers a chance to encounter a quieter side of Osaka beyond its commercial districts.
目黒川
Meguro River is a canal-like urban waterway running through central Tokyo, stretching approximately eight kilometers from Setagaya Ward through Meguro and Shinagawa wards before reaching Tokyo Bay.
龍渕寺
Ryūen-ji, written 龍渕寺, is a Buddhist temple in Osaka. It is a functioning place of worship rather than a museum or commercial attraction.
西法寺
西法寺, presented here as Saifukuji, is a Buddhist temple in Osaka. The temple is part of the city’s network of religious places, where worship, community life, and traditional architecture remain woven into ordinary urban neighborhoods.
正徳禅寺
正徳禅寺, rendered here as Shōtokuzen-ji, is a Buddhist temple in Osaka.
多米神社
Tameno Shrine, known locally as 多米神社, is a Shinto shrine in Osaka. It represents the kind of neighborhood religious site that sits alongside ordinary homes, roads, and local businesses rather than inside a purpose-built tourist complex.
産土神社
Ubusuna Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Osaka, known locally as 産土神社. The shrine represents a living part of Osaka’s religious and cultural landscape, giving visitors an opportunity to encounter Shinto practice within the city.
善覚寺
Zenkaku-ji Temple, 善覚寺, is a named Buddhist temple in Osaka. It is a local religious place within the city, without a documented collection, famous object, major visitor designation, or signature sight to define it as a conventional tourist landmark.
極み鶏そば 鶏と麦ときどき豚
極み鶏そば 鶏と麦ときどき豚 is an Osaka ramen restaurant with a name that sharply identifies its culinary focus. “Kiwami Tori Soba” foregrounds chicken soba, while “Tori to Mugi Tokidoki Buta” points to chicken, wheat, and occasional pork.
隅田川
The Sumida River is a major waterway flowing through eastern Tokyo, connecting the Arakawa River to Tokyo Bay. It has historically defined the city's eastern geography and development.
阪急西宮ガーデンズ
Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens is a large commercial complex in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, within the wider Osaka metropolitan area. The development brings shopping, dining, entertainment and landscaped outdoor areas together in one destination.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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