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

Tako no Nanatsu-ana is a National Natural Monument on Cape Tako, the northernmost tip of the Shimane Peninsula. Carved into 50-meter cliffs of volcanic rock, this system of nine sea caves — seven visible from the sea — can be explored on a sightseeing boat from Kaga Port.

Towering within the precincts of Tamawakasumikoto Shrine on Dōgo Island in Shimane's Oki archipelago, the Yao-sugi is a National Natural Monument with a trunk circumference of around nine meters and an estimated age of 1,000 to 2,000 years. Discover its enchanting legends of the immortal nun and the sleeping great serpent, the Goreie Furyū festival, and the surrounding wonders of this UNESCO Geopark island.

The Tawayama and Jingoda Sites in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, are nationally designated Historic Sites dating from the late Early to late Middle Yayoi period (approx. 4th–1st century BC). Featuring a unique triple-moat enclosure with no dwellings inside — a structure found nowhere else in Japan — this enigmatic site invites visitors to ponder the rituals and daily life of Yayoi people 2,500 years ago, while enjoying panoramic views of Lake Shinji and reconstructed ancient buildings.

Off Shimane Peninsula's northern coast, an uninhabited 0.5-square-kilometer islet preserves a rare concentration of andesite dykes cutting through Tertiary tuff. Designated a Natural Monument in 1932, the cliff opens a window onto an ancient volcanic plumbing system now sculpted by the Sea of Japan.

On a 362-meter ridge in Shimane, the walls of Tsuwano Castle—begun in 1295 and held by three clans—still terrace the mountain and float above autumn mist as a sky castle.

Tokurenba Kofun, a National Historic Site in Tamayu, Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, is a 5th-century round burial mound at the foot of Mt. Kasen. Its rare boat-shaped stone coffin lies exposed for visitors to view up close, combining 'carved-out' and 'assembled' construction techniques in a single object. It anchors the storied jewel-making landscape of ancient Tamatsukuri.

Tomita Castle Ruins (Gassan-Toda Castle), towering over Yasugi City in Shimane Prefecture, was the seemingly impregnable mountain stronghold of the Amago clan, who once commanded eleven provinces of western Japan. Vast remains spread across Mt. Gassan, together with the haunting legend of the loyal retainer Yamanaka Shikanosuke, continue to captivate visitors today. Designated a National Historic Site in 1934 and listed among Japan's Top 100 Castles, it stands as a masterpiece of medieval mountain fortress architecture.

The Nakazu Higashihara Site in Masuda City, Shimane is a National Historic Site preserving a medieval international port town that flourished from the 12th to 17th centuries. A 40-metre wharf, smithy remains, and a planned street grid have been uncovered, alongside ceramics from China, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. Combined with the Masuda Family Documents, the site offers a uniquely complete window into medieval Japanese maritime trade.

A sacred islet off Izumo's Hinomisaki coast, Fumishima became a Natural Monument in 1922. Thousands of black-tailed gulls nest here from November through midsummer.

A 3-hectare uninhabited islet off Nishi-no-shima in the Oki Islands where Streaked Shearwaters have bred for centuries. Designated National Natural Monument in 1938.

Just a five-minute walk from Tokyo Station, the Edo Castle Ruins are the remains of the largest castle ever built in Japan, where 15 generations of Tokugawa shoguns ruled for nearly 270 years. Designated a National Special Historic Site in 1960, the inner castle is now open to the public free of charge as the Imperial Palace East Gardens, offering visitors a chance to walk through massive Edo-period stone walls, ascend the foundation of the lost main keep, and view Important Cultural Property gates such as Sakuradamon.

Standing in Izumitsu on the volcanic island of Izu Oshima, the Sakura-kabu of Oshima is an Oshima cherry estimated at over 800 years old and the only plant in Tokyo to be designated a Special Natural Monument. Its main trunk broke off centuries ago, but the tree has continued to regenerate itself by sending adventitious roots from its fallen branches and raising new trunks from the ground — earning it the name of the cherry that walks. Rooted on a kipuka, a pocket of older land that lava once flowed around rather than over, it once served as a beacon for Edo-period sailors and still flowers each late March.

The Former Shimbashi Station Site and Takanawa Embankment Site, located in Minato Ward, Tokyo, is a nationally designated Historic Site preserving the birthplace of Japan's railway. When the country's first railway opened in 1872, trains traveled between Shimbashi and Yokohama partly on a 2.7-kilometer stone embankment built directly into Tokyo Bay. Visitors today can explore the reconstructed Shimbashi Station and its free Railway History Exhibition Room in Shiodome, while the rediscovered Takanawa Embankment ruins are being prepared for on-site public viewing in fiscal year 2027 within the new Takanawa Gateway City development. This article guides international travelers through one of Tokyo's most evocative landmarks of the Meiji modernization era.

Explore the Shitanoya Archaeological Site in Nishitokyo City, a National Historic Site preserving one of the largest Middle Jōmon period settlements in southern Kanto. Walk among reconstructed pit dwellings and experience 5,000 years of history just 30 minutes from Shinjuku.

A 900-year-old zelkova at Nerima's Hakusan Shrine. Roughly 19 m tall with an 8 m trunk, it is Tokyo's largest keyaki and a designated National Natural Monument.

A Natural Monument on the path to Musashi-Mitake Shrine in Ome, Tokyo. This giant zelkova is about 8.2 m around and 30 m tall, and roughly 600 years old.

A 916-meter volcanic cone 1,300 km south of Tokyo, this off-limits Ogasawara island shelters the world's only confirmed Matsudaira's storm-petrel breeding colony.

In Fuchu, Tokyo, the Musashi Fuchu Kumano Shrine Kofun is a rare round-top, square-base tomb of the late 7th century, with a free hall recreating its stone chamber.

In 1884 a student unearthed a strange reddish jar from a shell midden in this Tokyo district, Yayoi. The place name went on to label the pottery, then a whole era.

Two 4th-century keyhole tumuli on the Naka River terrace in Tochigi, where Tokugawa Mitsukuni ordered Japan's earliest documented scientific excavation in 1692.