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

Discover Ono no Shidareguri Jiseichi in Tatsuno Town, Nagano—Japan's largest natural grove of mutant weeping chestnut trees. Designated a National Natural Monument in 1920, this 3.4-hectare hillside hosts around 800 gnarled, umbrella-shaped chestnut trees once feared by villagers as the dwelling of tengu mountain spirits.

The Gonga Kanga Site in Iida holds the buried offices and storehouses of the ancient Ina district government, in use from the late 7th to early 10th century.

A National Natural Monument in Nagano's Shiga Kogen, where Genji fireflies live at 1,580–1,620 m—Japan's highest altitude for the species, fed by hot-spring warmth.

Seven Takashima Domain lords lie beneath 3-meter stone markers above Lake Suwa, the founder in a vermilion mausoleum nearby. National Historic Site, 2017.

Takato Castle Ruins in Ina, Nagano keeps the dry moats and ramparts of a Sengoku-era Takeda fortress, a rare surviving domain school, and 1,500 famed cherry trees.

In Neba, Nagano, the Great Cedar of Tsukize is Nagano's largest tree, about 13.8 m around and some 1,800 years old, a Natural Monument twice saved by its village.

Komoro's Tera-no-ura Stone Age Dwelling Site, a Late Jomon settlement excavated in 1930 below Mount Asama, was designated a National Historic Site in 1933.

The Haji Momoi Temple Ruins in Yazu Town, Tottori Prefecture, are the remains of Jijūji Temple, an ancient Buddhist complex built during the Hakuho period in the late 7th century. Designated as a National Historic Site, this archaeological treasure features a Hōkiji-style temple layout, 16 pagoda foundation stones preserved in their original positions, and inscribed roof tiles bearing the name of Inaba Province — offering a rare glimpse into provincial Buddhist culture during one of Japan's most transformative eras.

At Hahaki Shrine in Kurayoshi, a primeval grove of 400-year-old chinquapin trees rises 20 meters above the path. A National Natural Monument designated in 1934.

Discover the Hōki Kokubunji Temple Ruins, a nationally designated historic site in Kurayoshi, Tottori. This 8th-century provincial temple, ordered by Emperor Shōmu, offers a serene journey into Japan's Nara-period Buddhist heritage, surrounded by ancient government ruins and lush parkland.

On a ridge south of Matsugami village in Tottori, this shrine grove protects a rare natural stand of sakaki, the evergreen tree central to Shinto ritual offerings.

Spreading across the hills of western Tottori Prefecture, the Mukibanda Site is one of Japan's largest Yayoi-period settlement sites, flourishing some 2,000 years ago. With reconstructed pit dwellings, distinctive four-corner-protruding burial mounds, and sweeping views over the Sea of Japan and Mount Daisen, this 152-hectare National Historic Site lets visitors step directly into an ancient San'in 'kuni.'

Discover Yonago Castle Ruins, a National Historic Site crowning Mount Minato in Tottori Prefecture. Once celebrated as the finest castle in the San'in region with its rare twin keeps, the site today offers majestic stone walls and a breathtaking 360-degree panorama of Lake Nakaumi, Mount Daisen, and the Sea of Japan.

Crowning Mount Tsurunoo (452m) in Wakasa, Tottori Prefecture, Wakasa Oniga-jo is a National Historic Site of Japan and one of the three great castles of former Inaba Province. Its layered ruins preserve the medieval earthworks of the Yabe clan, the early-modern stone walls built by the Kinoshita and Yamazaki lords, and the rare physical traces of the 1617 'one castle per province' demolition decree.

Carved directly into tuff bedrock in Matsue's Ou district, the five Abedani yokoana tombs feature distinctive hipped-roof ceilings rarely seen elsewhere in Japan.

In Yasugi, eastern Shimane, this Historic Site holds some of Japan's largest early-Kofun square tombs and the four-cornered Yayoi mounds that came before them.

This Ikoji Temple pond garden in Masuda, attributed to the painter-monk Sesshu Toyo, places a tortoise island in a crane-shaped pond. Nationally designated in 1928.

A pair of earthen mounds the Matsue Domain raised in 1607 to mark one ri on the San'in road. The 5.5-meter gap between them records the Edo-period road width.

Ryukeido (Dragon Valley Cave), a nationally designated Natural Monument beneath Daikonshima Island in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, is a basalt lava tunnel formed approximately 190,000 years ago. Featuring Japan's only known intra-cave volcanic vent and endemic cave-dwelling species found nowhere else on Earth, this rare geological wonder can be explored on guided geopark tours.

Discover the Daikonshima Lava Tunnels (Yūkidō and Ryūkeidō), nationally designated natural monuments formed 200,000 years ago on a volcanic island in Lake Nakaumi, Shimane Prefecture. Learn about guided cave tours, rare cave-dwelling creatures, and nearby attractions.

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.