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

In 1946, amateur archaeologist Aizawa Tadahiro found chipped stone tools in red volcanic loam beside a Gunma road, proving Japan's history extends 35,000 years.

Deep in the upper reaches of the Kanna River in Gunma's Ueno Village lies the Ueno Narahara Shioji Forest, a primeval riverside grove of Japanese flowering ash that has stood unlogged since the Horeki era of the mid-18th century. Designated a National Natural Monument and Natural Protection Area in 1969, it is one of only 23 such top-tier protected areas in Japan, and one of just two on the Kanto mainland alongside the Oze marshlands. Visitors are greeted by towering Shioji trees reaching 35 meters in height and the profound stillness of an ancient forest.

Carved in 711 to mark the founding of Tago District, the Tago Stele near Takasaki, Gunma is counted among Japan's three oldest inscribed stone monuments.

Tenjinyama Kofun in Ota, Gunma is eastern Japan's largest ancient tomb, a 210-meter keyhole mound that marks the grave of a powerful fifth-century chieftain.

On a steep hill above the Kabura River in Gunma, this late Yayoi village left over 140 pit dwellings, a palisade and a moat. A National Historic Site since 1997.

Nyotaisan Kofun is a 106-metre scallop-shaped tumulus in Ota, Gunma, the third largest of its type in Japan and the largest example in the Kanto region.

A roughly thousand-year-old zelkova in Gunma and a National Natural Monument, once one of Japan's three great zelkovas, now hollow and braced at a road junction.

This giant cedar on the approach to Haruna Shrine, Gunma, is a National Natural Monument 9.4 meters around and some 450 years old, tied by legend to Takeda Shingen.

Three keyhole tombs raised within thirty years in Gunma. The Hachimanzuka mound is rebuilt with stone facing and thousands of haniwa, including a cormorant figure.

On a wooded slope in Minakami, Gunma, two Jomon stone-paved dwelling floors survive as a National Historic Site, preserving their stone hearths and a buried jar.

Minowa Castle's earthworks survive on the foothills of Mount Haruna in Takasaki, Gunma: vast Sengoku moats, baileys, and a reconstructed wooden turret gate.

At Kusatsu Onsen's center, 4,040 liters surface every minute through seven wooden conduits in Taro Okamoto's gourd-shaped basin. A National Scenic Beauty since 2017.

Explore the nationally designated historic site of the Kobayakawa Clan Castle Ruins in Mihara, Hiroshima. Discover three interconnected castles — Takayama, Niitakayama, and Mihara — tracing the evolution from mountain fortresses to a magnificent floating castle on the Seto Inland Sea.

Eight Yayoi-period tombs on a hilltop in northern Hiroshima preserve the transition to chiefly burial in unusual completeness, including three four-cornered protruding mounds. Designated a National Historic Site in October 2021.

Sandankyo Gorge stretches some 16 kilometres through the mountains of northwest Hiroshima Prefecture. Designated a Place of Scenic Beauty in 1925 and elevated to Special Place of Scenic Beauty in 1953, it is the only gorge with this highest rank west of Kansai. Five iconic vistas — Kurobuchi, Sarutobi, Nidan Falls, Sandan Falls, and Mitsu Falls — combine with primaeval forest, traditional ferry boats, and spectacular autumn foliage to enchant visitors year-round.

Located in Fuchū Town, Hiroshima Prefecture, the Shimo-okada Kanga Site is a Nara-period government facility designated as a National Historic Site in 2021. Almost certainly the 'Aki Umaya' post-station on the ancient Sanyō Highway, the site preserves two L-shaped tile-roofed stone-foundation buildings and yielded wooden tablets (mokkan), illuminating how Japan's early centralized state managed long-distance administration.

A 1620 daimyo garden in central Hiroshima by tea master Ueda Soko. Its arched stone bridge survived the 1945 atomic blast. Designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty.

A Place of Scenic Beauty at Jōdo-ji, Onomichi. Designed 1806 by Hasegawa Senryū, descendant of Sesshū. White sand, stones, and the Rotekian tea house above.

Five Yayoi-period mounds in Miyoshi, Hiroshima preserve the earliest known examples of Japan's distinctive four-cornered tomb form. Designated a National Historic Site in 2000.

Off Abashima island near Takehara in Hiroshima, a 1,500-meter-radius circle of Seto Inland Sea was made a National Natural Monument in 1930 to protect a breeding aggregation of finless porpoises.

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.