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

Three gardens laid out in 1829 by the eighth Mori lord Kurushima Michihiro on Mt. Suehiro in Kusu, Oita. Designated a Place of Scenic Beauty in January 2012.

Kumano Magaibutsu in Oita holds two of Japan's largest cliff Buddhas: an 8-meter Fudo Myo-o and a 7-meter Dainichi Nyorai, reached by a legendary stone stairway.

Kobe Site in Usa, Oita preserves a 3rd to 4th century moated settlement that evolved into a chief's residence, yielding pottery from Kinai and Kibi trade routes.

On a plateau in eastern Oita, the Sato Kanga Site preserves a 7th-century district office where large timber buildings stood in a U-shape around a central hall.

A National Natural Monument at Shōoku-ji temple in Hiji, Ōita: a female sago palm about six meters tall, aged 600 to 700 years, long called Japan's finest cycad.

The Nanatsu-mori Kofun Group in Taketa City, Oita Prefecture, is a nationally designated historic site featuring ancient burial mounds from the early Kofun period (4th century). With two keyhole-shaped and two round tumuli still intact, the site yielded remarkable artifacts including bronze mirrors and jasper bracelets that evidence cultural ties to the Kinai heartland. Each September, approximately 200,000 red spider lilies blanket the grounds, creating a breathtaking fusion of ancient history and natural splendor.

Standing within the precincts of Yusuhara Hachimangu Shrine in Oita City, the Great Camphor of Yusuhara Hachimangu is a National Natural Monument believed to be more than 3,000 years old. With a trunk circumference of about 19 meters, a height of roughly 30 meters, and a vast hollow inside its trunk, it is one of Japan's largest trees, ranked seventh nationwide in the 1989 Environment Agency survey. Discover this living monument, sheltered for over a millennium by the primeval forest of one of Bungo Province's oldest shrines.

The Ogasawara buzzard is the Bonin Islands' only resident raptor and a National Natural Monument since 1971. This endemic subspecies is now classed as endangered.

The Koshidaka Site on Tsushima yielded mostly Korean-style raised-band pottery and a stone hearth like those near Busan. It became a National Historic Site in 2025.

National Historic Site in Nagasaki where Siebold opened Japan's first foreign-led medical school in 1824. Original wells, stone walls, and his planted trees remain.

Built 1591 above Izuhara as a staging post for Hideyoshi's Korean campaign. Three stone-walled enclosures still trace the saddle ridge for some 500 meters.

On Tsushima, between Kyushu and Korea, Mount Shiratake's upper slopes hold a forest where Japanese and continental plants meet. It became a Natural Monument in 1923.

The Taradake Tsukushi Shakunage Colony in Isahaya City, Nagasaki Prefecture, is a nationally designated Natural Monument where Japan's endemic Tsukushi rhododendrons bloom across the forested slopes of sacred Mount Tara each spring. One of only two nationally protected habitats for this species — praised by Siebold as one of the world's finest flowers — this mountain sanctuary offers a stunning hiking experience amid ancient Shugendo heritage.

Discover the Eight Scenic Wonders of the Hirado Domain (Hirado Hakkei) in Sasebo, Nagasaki — towering sandstone cliffs, hidden waterfalls, natural stone bridges, and sea caves chosen by Lord Matsura Hiromu in 1847 and now designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty.

A sandstone rock shelter in Sasebo where 15 layers trace the Paleolithic-to-Jōmon transition — Japan's first Paleolithic-era Special Historic Site (October 2024).

A dacite lava dome that grew on Mt. Unzen, 1991-1995, observed in unprecedented detail. At 1,483 m, Nagasaki's highest peak, designated a Natural Monument in 2004.

The Hogett Stone Pot Production Site, a nationally designated historic site hidden in the mountains of Saikai City, Nagasaki Prefecture, is the largest known medieval soapstone cooking pot manufacturing complex in Japan. Active from the late Heian to Muromachi periods, this remarkable archaeological site features 11 workshop locations where craftsmen carved pots from cliff faces, supplying cookware across the entire Japanese archipelago.

The Aku Site in Hara Village, Nagano, is a 7,000-year-old Early Jomon settlement and ceremonial complex featuring Japan's oldest known annular stone arrangement and a central standing stone aligned with sacred Mt. Tateshina. Preserved beneath the Chuo Expressway, its remarkable artifacts can be viewed at the nearby Yatsugatake Museum of Art.

Mato-iwa, the "Target Rock" of Mount Azumaya, is a National Natural Monument straddling the Nagano-Gunma border at an elevation of around 1,770 meters. This spectacular andesite dike extends roughly 400 meters along the ridge, with its most prominent screen-shaped section reaching up to 15 meters in height. Its remarkable hexagonal columnar jointing and the natural window at its center, said to mark where the medieval warlord Minamoto no Yoritomo's arrow pierced the stone, draw geology enthusiasts and history lovers alike. Reached by a 30–40 minute walk from the Torii Pass trailhead within Joshin'etsu-Kogen National Park, it offers a rare encounter with both volcanic geology and samurai-era legend.

Set in the wooded hills of Matsushiro in Nagano City, the Omuro Kofun Group is a National Historic Site of more than 500 burial mounds built between the 5th and 8th centuries. It is Japan's largest concentration of stone-piled tumuli (tsumiishizuka) and rare 'joined-hands' stone chambers, offering a striking window onto early cross-sea exchange with the Korean Peninsula.

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.