Discover Japan's Hidden Gems
Explore temples, shrines, castles, parks, and more
Rikugien Garden
A Masterpiece of Edo-Period Strolling Garden Design
One of Tokyo's finest Edo-period landscape gardens, built in 1702, featuring a large central pond...
Rishiri Island
Rishiri Island - The Floating Mountain of the North
A remote volcanic island off northern Hokkaido where the dramatic 1,721-meter Mount Rishiri rises...
Ritsurin Garden
Japan's Largest Cultural Property Garden
Japan's largest cultural property garden with six ponds, thirteen hills, and over a thousand scul...
Roppongi
Art, Nightlife & Panoramic City Views
Art and nightlife converge in this cosmopolitan district where world-class museums neighbor some ...
Rurikoji Temple
Rurikoji Temple Five-Story Pagoda
Rising elegantly above a tranquil pond garden, the five-story pagoda of Rurikoji Temple has been ...
Ryoan-ji
Ryoan-ji Temple
UNESCO World Heritage Zen temple with the famous rock garden—15 stones on white gravel. From any ...
Ryozenji
Starting Point of the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage
Temple #1 of the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage, where most pilgrims begin their 1,200-kilometer jo...
Sado Island
Japan's sixth largest island with gold mines, traditional performing arts, and rugged coastal sce...
Sado Island Gold Mine
Once Japan's largest gold mine producing gold for the Tokugawa shogunate, the Sado Island Gold Mi...
Saga Castle
Restored Honmaru Palace of the Nabeshima Clan
Beautifully reconstructed Honmaru Palace of the former Nabeshima lords, one of the largest wooden...
Sagano Bamboo Grove
Tall bamboo stalks forming a corridor in Arashiyama. Very Instagrammed. Go at dawn or it's a queu...
Sagano Scenic Railway
A Scenic Open-Air Train Ride Through the Hozukyo Gorge
A 25-minute open-air sightseeing train running along the Hozu River gorge between Saga and Kameok...
Saihoji (Kokedera)
The Enchanting Moss Temple Requiring Advance Reservation
A World Heritage Zen temple blanketed in over 120 varieties of moss, creating an ethereal green l...
Saiko Iyashi no Sato Nenba
Saiko Iyashi no Sato Nenba is a restored thatched-roof village at the northwestern base of Mount ...
Sakurajima
Sakurajima Volcano
One of Japan's most active volcanoes rising from Kagoshima Bay, accessible by a short ferry ride.
Sandanbeki
Dramatic Sea Cliffs with a Hidden Pirate Cave
Towering 50-meter sea cliffs along the Shirahama coast with an elevator descending to a cave once...
Sanjusangendo
Hall of 1,001 Statues of Kannon
120-meter-long hall with 1,001 life-size gilded Kannon statues standing in rows. Hard to process ...
Sankeien Garden
A Grand Japanese Garden with Historic Treasures
A spacious traditional Japanese garden built by silk merchant Hara Sankei, featuring 17 historic ...
Sannai-Maruyama Archaeological Site
Japan's Largest Jomon Settlement, a UNESCO World Heritage Prehistoric Site
One of Japan's most important archaeological sites and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sannai-Maruy...
Sanrio Puroland
An indoor theme park dedicated to Hello Kitty and Sanrio characters with shows, rides, and charac...