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

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.

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.

Two early keyhole tombs and two round tombs on a hill in Taketa, Oita, a Historic Site since 1959, preserving early coffins and grave goods.

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 Tsukushi Rhododendron Community of Taradake in Isahaya, Nagasaki, a Natural Monument since 1951, is a stand of Kyushu's prized rhododendron below Konsenji.

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 Hoget Stone Pot Production Site in Saikai, Nagasaki, a Historic Site since 1981, has 11 medieval workshops where soapstone pots were carved from the rock.