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

Imashirozuka Kofun in Takatsuki City, Osaka is the largest keyhole-shaped burial mound in the Yodo River basin, believed to be the true tomb of Emperor Keitai (26th emperor, died 531 AD). As the only imperial tomb in Japan open for public exploration, visitors can walk the ancient mound, view over 190 reconstructed haniwa clay figures in a recreated ritual precinct, and explore a free museum and Japan's oldest known haniwa factory site. Easily accessible from both Osaka and Kyoto, this is a truly unique destination for experiencing Japan's ancient Kofun-period heritage.

Completed in 1953 by Mirei Shigemori, this stone garden at Kishiwada Castle sets nine rock groups after Zhuge Liang's eight battle formations, best seen from above.

On Osaka's Okawa River stand the remains of Japan's first modern mint, founded in 1871. Senpukan, the old main gate, a guard house and early gas lamps survive here.

On a ridge in Osaka's Chihayaakasaka, these earthworks formed Kusunoki Masashige's main stronghold, besieged in 1333 and lost when its water supply was cut.

Kurohimeyama Kofun, a 114-meter keyhole tomb between Sakai's two World Heritage tomb groups, held 24 sets of iron armor, the largest find from one Japanese tomb.

Over 1,000 years old, with a trunk 12.5 meters around, the Kungai-Kusu camphor at Mitsushima Shrine in Kadoma, Osaka, became a National Natural Monument in 1938.

The Kokufu Site in Fujiidera, Osaka, preserves traces of life from the Ice Age to medieval times, and is where Japan's first scientific excavation began in 1917.

In Habikino, Osaka, the Konda Shiratori kiln complex fired the haniwa that once lined Emperor Ojin's tomb and the other great burial mounds of the Furuichi group.

Sakurai Station Site in Osaka marks an ancient post station and the spot where, by legend, the warrior Kusunoki Masashige parted from his son before battle in 1336.

The Tosa Eleven Martyrs' Tombs in the grounds of Hojuin Temple in Sakai City, Osaka, is a National Historic Site marking the burial place of eleven Tosa Domain samurai who committed seppuku in 1868 to resolve the diplomatic crisis known as the Sakai Incident. Designated in 1938, the site preserves a key memorial of Japan's earliest international confrontation under the Meiji government and the Western witnesses' shock at the practice of harakiri. Combined with a visit to nearby Myokoku-ji Temple, it offers a moving experience of late-Edo and early-Meiji history.

Nanshuji Garden, set on the south side of the abbot's quarters at the Rinzai Zen temple Nanshuji in Sakai, Osaka, is an early-Edo karesansui designated a national Place of Scenic Beauty in 1983. This guide introduces its bold Izumi sandstone and chlorite schist composition, its Momoyama-period design lineage tied to Sen no Rikyu and Furuta Oribe, and practical visitor tips for exploring this quietly powerful Zen garden.

Ana Kannon Kofun in Hita City, Oita Prefecture, is a decorated tumulus dating from the late 6th to early 7th century and designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1933. Inside its multi-room horizontal stone chamber, the walls are adorned with red and green paintings of concentric circles, continuous triangles, ships, birds, and human figures — a celebrated example of the Chikugo River decorated-tomb tradition.

The Ankokuji Settlement Ruins in Kunisaki City, Oita, is a Yayoi-to-early-Kofun-period wetland village designated a National Historic Site in 1992. Famous as the 'Toro of the West' for its remarkably preserved wooden artifacts and carbonized rice, the site is also the type-site for Ankokuji-type pottery. Today it is a public park with reconstructed pit dwellings, raised-floor storehouses, and an adjacent learning hall offering hands-on experiences of ancient Japanese life.

Designated a National Historic Site in 1934, the Inukai Stone Buddhas in Bungo-Ono City, Oita Prefecture, comprise a magnificent Acala Triad carved in deep relief into a welded tuff cliff formed by the Aso pyroclastic flow. The seated central Fudō Myōō, about 3.76 meters tall, is flanked by his two boy attendants and dates to the late Heian to Kamakura period. Its rare features — no flame halo, both eyes wide open, and visible soles in a full lotus pose — preserve older iconographic traditions, making this one of the most distinctive magaibutsu of the Ono River basin.

Located in Kiyokawa-machi, Bungo-ono City, Oita Prefecture, the Iwato Site is a Late Paleolithic National Historic Site dating back approximately 20,000 to 24,000 years. It yielded the kokeshi-shaped stone figurine—widely regarded as Japan's oldest human-form artifact—along with numerous stone tools and a possible stone-piled tomb, offering a rare glimpse into the lives and spiritual world of Ice Age people in the Japanese archipelago.

Designated a National Natural Monument in 1934, the Great Cedar of Ōgosha Shrine stands in a quiet grove just south of Yufuin Station. Over 1,000 years old, 38 m tall, and roughly 14 m in girth at its base, this Cryptomeria japonica giant divides into two trunks at three meters and harbors a sacred image inside a vast hollow.

Explore the Nakagawa Clan Cemetery, a National Historic Site in Taketa City, Oita Prefecture. Three distinct burial grounds reveal the diverse funerary philosophies of Edo-period feudal lords — from elegant Buddhist mausoleums with garden ponds to Confucian graves atop remote mountains in the Kuju Range.

This Natural Monument on a Hita riverbed in Oita preserves a forest swept up by Aso's greatest eruption 90,000 years ago, holding 13 tree species in its layers.

In Saiki, Oita, a four-hectare shrine grove harbors the endangered Hanagagashi oak (Quercus hondae) in near old-growth condition, found only in Kyushu and Shikoku.

Six keyhole tombs and 100+ smaller burials trace three centuries of Usa chieftains, from third-century Akatsuka's bronze mirrors to sixth-century Tsurumi's chamber.

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.