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

Discover the Yamana Clan Castle Ruins, a National Historic Site in Toyooka, Hyogo. Explore Konosumiyama and Arikoyama castle ruins, tracing 200 years of samurai history from the Onin War era to the Sengoku period, with stunning mountain views and authentic stone walls.

Discover the marimo of Lake Akan, the only place on Earth where freshwater green algae naturally form large velvet spheres. A guide to this Special Natural Monument's unique ecology, the Marimo Exhibition and Observation Center on Churui Island, the autumn Marimo Festival co-hosted with the indigenous Ainu, and how to plan your visit to Hokkaido's most mystical lake.

The Usakumai Site Cluster in Chitose City, Hokkaido is a 146-hectare National Historic Site preserving 22 archaeological sites spanning roughly 7,000 years—from the Early Jomon period through to the Ainu cultural era. Set on a forested terrace between the Chitose River and the spring-fed Naibetsu River (one of Japan's Hundred Famous Waters), the cluster includes the Usakumai C site, where 79 Satsumon-period pit-dwelling depressions remain visible along a self-guided walking course. It is a rare open-air archaeological landscape rooted in millennia of salmon-based culture.

Hidden on the steep ridges of the upper Uzura River in Assabu Town, Hokkaido, the Uzuragawa Goyōmatsu Natural Northern Limit Zone preserves the northernmost Sea of Japan-side stand of the five-needle pine (kitagoyō). Designated a National Natural Monument in 1928 and now spanning about 362 hectares, the forest features a globally rare conifer-broadleaf mix. Discover the site's botanical significance, its early 20th-century scientific story, and what to see in surrounding Assabu Town.

Housed at the Mikasa City Museum in Hokkaido, the Ezo Mikasaryu Fossil is a nationally designated Natural Monument: a Late Cretaceous skull discovered along the Ikushunbetsu River in 1976. Once celebrated as Japan's first carnivorous land dinosaur, it is now recognized as a marine reptile of the mosasaur genus Taniwhasaurus. Visitors can see the original specimen and a stunning restoration model alongside Japan's finest ammonite collection.

Ebetsu Burial Mounds in Hokkaido are Japan's northernmost surviving tombs, built in the late 8th to mid-9th centuries. Finds reveal exchange with Ritsuryo Honshu.

The Ōdate Site in Matsumae, Hokkaido, is one of the Dōnan Twelve Forts. From 1514 the Kakizaki clan, forerunners of the Matsumae lords, governed Ezo until 1606.

About 50 km off the coast of Matsumae in southern Hokkaido lies Oshima-Oshima, an uninhabited volcanic island designated a National Natural Monument in 1928 as the world's northernmost breeding ground of the Streaked Shearwater. Shaped by the catastrophic 1741 eruption, this remote sanctuary still shelters a colony that has survived centuries of trial.

Discover the Oshoro Stone Circle in Otaru, Hokkaido — the largest of the region's Jōmon stone circles and the very first ring of standing stones in Japan to be reported to the academic world. Learn about its 3,500-year-old origins, ritual significance, and how to visit this National Historic Site.

Standing on the Pacific coast of Urahoro Town in eastern Hokkaido, Otafunbe Chashi Site is the remains of an Ainu fortress thought to have been built between the 16th and 18th centuries. Designated a National Historic Site in 1981 as a textbook example of the osonayama 'offering-shape' chashi, it is famous for its name meaning 'Sand Whale' in Ainu and for a vivid local legend in which a sand whale was used as a battlefield trick. The site is set amid sweeping coastal views and slopes carpeted with Ezo day lilies in summer.

Discover the Ochiishi Cape Sakai Azalea Habitat in Nemuro, Hokkaido, the only place in Japan where the rare Sakai azalea grows wild. Designated a National Natural Monument in 1940, this remote cape combines a Sakhalin spruce forest, a sphagnum moss bog, and dramatic Pacific cliffs.

The Otoe Stone Circle in Fukagawa, Hokkaido is a Late Jōmon-period burial complex designated a National Historic Site in 1956. Thirteen stone-ringed graves on the hilltop of Inamiyama yielded jade ornaments and a red-lacquered bow, offering a quiet but powerful glimpse into the spiritual world of northern Japan's prehistoric hunter-gatherers some 3,000 years ago.

Hidden in the primeval forest of Akan-Mashu National Park in Hokkaido, Onneto Yu-no-taki is the only place on land where manganese ore deposits are still being created by microorganisms in real time. Designated a National Natural Monument in 2000, it is regarded worldwide as a 'natural laboratory' that recreates processes from 3.5 billion years ago. Discover this remote hot-spring waterfall at the foot of an active volcano.

In central Sapporo stands the Former Hokkaidō Government Office — the beloved 'Red Brick Office' — alongside the underground remains of the Hokkaidō Kaitakushi Sapporo Main Office. Together designated a National Historic Site, they tell the story of Meiji-era Hokkaidō's modernization. Completed in 1888 and reopened in July 2025 after a major renovation, the building now features refreshed exhibitions, an octagonal tower viewing experience, and dining and shopping facilities, serving as a vibrant hub for Hokkaidō's history, culture, and tourism.

Three medieval Wajin forts in Kaminokuni, Hokkaido, tied to the 1457 Koshamain War. Excavated Ainu tools suggest two peoples shared one hilltop stronghold.

Tucked into the urban heart of Eniwa City in Hokkaido, the Karinba Site has yielded an unprecedented Jōmon-period burial assemblage: over 120 vermilion-lacquered ornaments and roughly 900 stone beads recovered from late Jōmon joint burial pits dating to about 3,000 years ago. Designated a National Historic Site in 2005 and producing Important Cultural Property grave goods in 2006, it is exhibited free of charge at the Eniwa City Local History Museum's Karinba Exhibition Room. Just 10 minutes on foot from JR Eniwa Station, between Sapporo and New Chitose Airport.

Discover the Kiusu Earthwork Burial Circles in Chitose, Hokkaido — a UNESCO World Heritage site featuring nine massive Jomon-period burial mounds, including one 83 meters in diameter, built around 3,200 years ago.

The 803-hectare core of the vast Kiritappu Marsh in eastern Hokkaido was designated a national natural monument in 1922 for its uniquely cold, fog-shrouded peat-forming plant community. Discover the highlights, the 300 wildflower species that earn it the name 'Marsh of Flowers,' and how to visit this exceptional wetland.

The Kushiro River Basin Chashi Sites are a National Historic Site comprising eleven Ainu earthwork enclosures spread across four municipalities in eastern Hokkaido. Built between the 16th and 18th centuries, these chashi served as ceremonial sites, lookout posts, places of dialogue, and at times as defensive strongholds. The group includes Moshiriya Chashi, one of the very few chashi in Hokkaido whose builder is documented by name. The sites offer a unique window onto the Indigenous heritage of Japan's northern frontier.

Spreading across eastern Hokkaido, Kushiro Wetland is Japan's largest marshland. Shaped over roughly 3,000 years, this primeval landscape shelters around 1,300 wildlife species and 700 plants—including the Special Natural Monument red-crowned crane. Designated a Natural Monument in 1967, registered in 1980 as Japan's first Ramsar Convention site, and made a national park in 1987, the wetland offers sweeping observatory views, gentle canoe trips on the Kushiro River, the beloved Norokko sightseeing train, and the unforgettable winter spectacle of dancing cranes—a year-round natural treasure of Hokkaido.