UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Japan
Japan has 27 UNESCO World Heritage sites. Most are not one place but several: Ancient Kyoto alone is 17 temples, shrines and a castle across three cities. Here every place we cover is listed under the inscription it belongs to.
Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara
Cultural site, inscribed 2026 · 7 places · UNESCO listing
Asuka Palace Site
The Field in Asuka Where Soga no Iruka Was Killed in 645, with a Restored Stone Pavement and Well from Emperor Tenmu's Palace
The spot in the middle of Asuka where several 7th-century rulers built their palaces one on top o...
Asuka-dera
The Asuka Daibutsu, Dated by the Temple to 609 and Called by It Japan's Oldest Buddha Statue, Photos Allowed
A small hall in the fields of Asuka on the site of the temple Soga no Umako began in 588. Inside ...
Fujiwara Palace Site
The Field Where Nara Says Japan's First Grid-Planned Capital Stood, Now Planted with Rapeseed, Lotus and Cosmos
The site of the palace at the centre of Fujiwara-kyo, Japan's capital from 694 to 710, which Nara...
Ishibutai Kofun
A Bare Stone Burial Chamber in Asuka You Can Walk Into, Widely Thought to Be the Tomb of Soga no Umako
An early 7th-century burial chamber of about 30 huge stones whose earth mound has worn away, leav...
Kitora Tomb
A Small Asuka Tomb Painted with the Four Guardian Animals and a Star Chart, and a Free Museum Where the Real Murals Go on Show
A two-tier round tomb from the late 7th or early 8th century whose chamber was painted with the f...
Tachibana-dera
The Temple That Marks the Traditional Birthplace of Prince Shotoku, with a Two-Faced Stone and an Old Pagoda Base
A Tendai temple on the spot where, by tradition, Prince Shotoku was born. The Asuka-period temple...
Takamatsuzuka Tomb
The Asuka Tomb Whose Painted Women Started an Archaeology Boom in 1972, with a Mural Museum Next Door
A small round tomb from the late 7th or early 8th century where painted murals of court women and...