Historic Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty, and Natural Monuments of Japan

A seven-step waterfall on the Atera River in Shinshiro, Aichi, dropping 62 metres in all. Designated in 1934 for its conglomerate bed and deep potholes.

The site of a Tendai Vinaya temple in the hills of Kihoku, Ehime. Some twenty terraces cut into a valley remain, with a retaining wall 6 metres in height.

A settlement site in Setouchi, Okayama, running from the early Yayoi to the Kamakura period. Its shell mound gave its name to a type of Yayoi pottery.

Petrified wood exposed in the beds of the Mabechi and its tributaries in Ichinohe, Iwate. Its species match those of the forest that grows there today.

A large defended settlement of the later 4th century in Kurihara, Miyagi. Mirrors and ironwork came from pit dwellings that appear to have been burned.

An Edo-period school and its garden at Iwadeyama in Osaki, Miyagi. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it the oldest surviving school building of that age.

A Nara-period tile kiln site in Osaki, Miyagi, which supplied the first Taga Castle. Excavation from 2021 found six kilns for tiles and one for charcoal.

A sandspit at Miyazu, Kyoto, listed in 1922 and raised in 1952. Three criteria were applied, one of them naming it a point to view the place itself from.

A flat garden of about 165 square metres in Kita Ward, Kyoto. A hedge closes off its background, and all of its stones are kept deliberately small in scale.

A garden in Kita Ward, Kyoto, covering the ground around the study garden and the abbot's hall garden, the latter of them plain in the extreme indeed.

Jomon-period shell mounds in Kumamoto Prefecture. One of the two came to light just where a river in flood had scoured out a paddy field down there.

A castle site in Kumamoto Prefecture. Its stone walls were pulled down twice over, the second time because the first had not gone nearly far enough at all.

A natural monument in Kumamoto Prefecture: a stretch of river in which a rare freshwater red alga grows upon the very stones of the riverbed down there.

A Jomon-period site in Kumamoto Prefecture. Material and waste abound here but the finished tools are few, because they all went elsewhere in the end.

Explore the Bingo Kokufu archaeological site in Fuchu City, Hiroshima. This National Historic Site reveals 500 years of ancient Japanese provincial governance from the 8th-12th century, featuring rare artifacts and ceremonial architecture.

Explore Shinpukuji Shell Mound, a nationally designated historic site in Saitama near Tokyo. This 4,000-year-old Jomon Period archaeological treasure features rare lacquerware, an iconic owl-shaped clay figurine, and ongoing excavations revealing ancient Japanese life.

Explore Kyū Sūkōdō, a rare Edo-period samurai school in Iga-Ueno, Mie Prefecture. This National Historic Site preserves original lecture halls and a gate inscription by legendary lord Uesugi Yozan. Walk where samurai children once studied in the ninja homeland.

Discover the Ichinosaka Site in Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture—home to Japan's longest prehistoric longhouse at 44 meters. Explore this National Historic Site featuring a 6,000-year-old stone tool workshop and unique connected dwellings.

Discover Gyokusenji Temple Garden, a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata. This 570-year-old Zen garden features a stunning pond-stroll design with natural waterfalls, rare Japanese primrose, and the serene atmosphere of one of Japan's oldest Soto Zen temples near sacred Mt. Haguro.

Discover Hibakoiwa Caves, a nationally designated historic site in Takahata, Yamagata Prefecture. This ancient cave dwelling reveals the origins of Jomon pottery and the lives of Japan's earliest settlers over 10,000 years ago.

The complete kokuhō catalogue — browse by prefecture, period, and category.

Nationwide jūyō bunkazai — architecture, sculpture, painting, crafts, and documents.

UNESCO-inscribed cultural and natural sites across the archipelago.