JJapan Trips

What are top 5 best tourist attractions in Japan that you have visited?

  • April 17, 2026

My top 5 are: Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima, Toshigu Shrine in Nikko, Namahage Museum in Akita, Todaiji in Nara and ancient mural museum in Asuka.

by Ok-Tangelo6749

32 comments

  1. I only did the Nikko shrine on this list and yeah, it was actually the most interesting and beautiful one. Most memorable.

  3. Yakushima, Mt. Aso and environs, climbed Fujisan for sunrise (over a decade ago), Dogo onsen, The Railway Museum in Saitama (it was my Disneyland)

  6. In no real order:
    1. Oirase Gorge (Autumn)(Aomori)
    2. Dragon Quest Island (Awaji)
    3. Okunoshima (Rabbit Island)(Hiroshima)
    4. Tateyama Alpine Route (Toyama)
    5. Matsushima Bay (Miyagi)

  7. Mine were:

    Dotonbori, Osaka
    Universal Studios, Osaka
    Shinsekai, Osaka
    Kuromon Market, Osaka
    Tokyo Station, Tokyo

    I liked Osaka a lot lol.

  8. In no particular order:

    Aomori museum of Art

    Matsushima Bay

    Okunoshima

    Senkoji Peak in Onomichi

    Itsukushima Shrine

  9. No particular order: Kenroku-en Garden in Kanazawa, Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima, Chureito Pagoda in Arakuyama Sengen Park, Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto (peak autumn foliage time at sunrise), Shugakuin Imperial Villa in Kyoto (also peak autumn foliage time)

  10. My fav thing is to walk around cities but in terms of like singular attractions:

    Mount Aso main craters

    Temple in Yamadera

    Todaiji temple

    Kyoto railway museum

    Dejima museum Nagasaki maybe? It’s too hard to pick five

  11. After my first visit of Todaiji I also visited Todaiji Temple Kaidan Hall. At the gate the Ticket Guy looked at me surprised and said “This is not Todaiji, this is not Todaiji!” I said I know, but I want to see it too. The guy was so confused he went get a younger girl to explain it to me again because he thougth I misunderstood…

  12. Currently:

    1. Dotonbori (a stretch to call it an attraction maybe, but this is my favourite spot in Japan)
    2. USJ (felt like a child)
    3. Shinjuku (compare this and Dotonbori, and you know I have a preference)
    4. Sumo tournament in Nagoya
    5. Fushimi inari taisha at night.

    Honorable mentions: the famous pagoda that’s always in promo pictures of Kyoto, Gion, the tea ceremony, TeamLabs garden in Osaka, baseball game in Tokyo dome and the Harry Potter themed square and a subway that happened to be close to my hotel in Tokyo. And the fooooood!!!!

    I’m coming back this summer. New destigations and attractions include – Sensoji temple, both TeamLabs spots in Tokyo, my actual first sushi experience (yes, you read it right), Yokohama, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Shimanami Kaido, Kurushiki, Himeji, Kobe. I will have Akihabara as my Tokyo stay as well, I did visit it back then, but very briefly.

  13. In no particular order:

    Yamamouchi, Nagano

    Miyajima, Hiroshima

    Nakasendo Trail, Nagano

    Ritsurin, Takamatsu

    Enoshima, Kanagawa

  14. The highlight of my trip was Nara. All of it was magical. After that I’d go Meiji Jingu, Ginkakuji without crowds was magical, Yasaka Shrine, and Dotonbori in Osaka.

  15. I went for the first time recently and took the golden route so I’m gonna be very generic. But Kinkaku-Ji and Meiji-Jingu really impressed me.

    I also liked Kiyomizu-dera a lot.

    Other than those. I really appreciated just walking and exploring.

  16. Osaka Universal Studios

    Arima Onsen / Mt. Rokko

    All Teamlab Installations

    Ueno Park in Cherry Blossoms

    Himeji Castle

  17. Meiji Jingu, Kinkaku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, Fushimi Inari and Itsukushima Jinja. Bonus: view of Hakodate from Mt Hakodate at night

  18. In the order I visited them:

    Todai-Ji (Nara)

    Gunkanjima (Nagasaki)

    Dōgo Onsen in Matsuyama (Ehime)

    Miyajima (Hiroshima)

    Naoshima (Kagawa)

  19. Minoh falls

    Osaka castle at night

    Gioji in Kyoto Arashiyama

    Hiroshima peace park

    Ikuta Shrine in Kobe also did something to me for some reason

  20. The Godzilla zipline/museum on Awaji Island

    The Romantic Train/boat ride in Kyoto

    The Osamu Tezuka Museum in Takurazuka

    Gotokuji Temple In Tokyo

    Ribera Steakhouse in Tokyo

  21. Honda Collection Hall at Twin Ring Motegi

    Toyota Megaweb at Odaiba (rip, gone now)

    Nikko Toshogu, but mostly due to hiking in behind it where there are waterfalls and smaller temples

    Fuji Speedway (they have a thing where you can rent a car and do some laps)

    Nanzen-ji in Kyoto, again for hiking up in behind through the mountains there

  22. Nagasaki Dejima historical site,Adachi museum of art ,Shirakwa-go to name a few.😊

  23. A two night stay at a Funaya in Ine with car exploring the area around it. With Amanohashidate ofc

  24. Unzen Amakusa national park (Unzen ropeway especially, some of the best views I’ve seen in my life)

    Sakurajima volcano (and Kagoshima surrounding area)

    Fushimi inari up at the very top was spectacular

    Todaiji temple Nara

    Tokashiki island kerama islands national park Okinawa

  25. not going to even try order these, so here they are, unordered list:

    * helicopter ride over Mt. Aso crater
    * Okawachiyama pottery village (Imari, Kyushu)
    * Jikkokutoge Observation Area (Izu)
    * Matsushima (at the coast, the islands with the bridges)
    * Fushimi Inari Taisha – once hiked past the throngs

    There are areas and non-tourist attractions that I would rank even more highly, but I don’t feel like they make for a nice list. I don’t feel like I can just say “walking around Gion” or “watching the Shinkansen fly past while standing in a smaller station where it doesn’t stop”.

  26. I did a lot of stuff on my two trips, just coming back from my second. There’s a lot I would not waste time doing again, but these are less temples and historic if that’s okay

    1. Kaiyukan Aquarium (Osaka)
    2. DisneySea (Tokyo)
    3. Pokemon Kanto Park (Tokyo)
    4. Girls Muscle Bar (Tokyo)
    5. Studio Ghibli Park (Nagoya)

  27. Call me a basic man but

    1.) Ninenzaka/Sanenzaka/Kiyomizu Dera
    2.) Nara Deer Park
    3.) Skytree Solamachi
    4.) Dotonbori/Shinsaibashi
    5.) Kobe Harborland

  30. Mt. Inasa Overlook – clear nr 1 for me, the rest are interchangeable

    Yutoku Inari Shrine

    Himeji Castle

    Aso area – I am still here, but wow does it look majestic

    Kiyomizudera and the walk up to it

    I will be going to Yakushima later on my trip, it’s likely it will be on the list after.

  31. For me, in no specific order:

    * Mt. Sakurajima

    * Shinkansen Museum in Nagoya

    * Farm Tomita

    * Himeji Castle

    * Maybe the Nagasaki Peace Memorial museum?

  32. Unzen Jigoku Nagasaki

    Adachi Museum of Art Shimane

    Kenroku-en Ishikawa

    Iwate Tsunami Memorial Museum Iwate

    On”nenai Mokudō Boardwalk Hokkaido

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