Japan

Things to Do in Japan

20 places across Tokyo, Osaka and 6 more cities — ranked by traveler ratings, with photos and where to find each one.

Tokyo Disneyland

Urayasu · Chiba · amusement center · ★ 4.6 · 125,613 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Tokyo Disneyland is a 126-acre (51 ha) theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, near Tokyo in Chiba Prefecture, Japan Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be built outside the United States and it opened on April 15, 1983.

Tokyo Disneyland
LMP 2001 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Universal Studios Japan

Osaka · Osaka · amusement center · ★ 4.5 · 155,560 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Universal Studios Japan (ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン) is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operated by USJ LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast NBCUniversal.

Universal Studios Japan
Freddo (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Senso-ji

Tokyo · Tokyo · buddhist temple · ★ 4.6 · 98,286 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Sensō-ji, is an ancient Buddhist temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. It is Tokyo's oldest-established temple, and one of its most significant. It is dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. Structures in the temple complex include the main hall, a five-story pagoda and large gates.

Senso-ji
Kakidai (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Fushimi Inari Taisha

Kyoto · Kyoto · shinto shrine · ★ 4.6 · 90,854 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Fushimi Inari-taisha is the head shrine of the kami Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan.

Fushimi Inari Taisha
Luka Peternel (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Tokyo Tower

Tokyo · Tokyo · observation deck · ★ 4.5 · 99,840 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Tokyo Tower, also known by its official name Japan Radio Tower is a communications and observation tower in the district of Shiba-koen in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, completed in 1958. At 332.9 meters, it was the tallest tower in Japan until the construction of Tokyo Skytree in 2012.

Tokyo Tower
Akonnchiroll (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Nara Park

Nara · Nara · park · ★ 4.6 · 76,085 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Nara Park is a public park located in the city of Nara, Japan, at the foot of Mount Wakakusa. Established in 1880, it is one of the oldest parks in Japan. Administratively, the park is under the control of Nara Prefecture.

Nara Park
Ian G Shingler (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

Motobu · Okinawa · aquarium · ★ 4.6 · 73,865 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, formerly known as the Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium, is a public aquarium located within the Ocean Expo Park in Okinawa, Japan. The aquarium's Kuroshio sea tank was the largest aquarium tank in the world until it was surpassed by the Georgia Aquarium in 2005.

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium
Allentchang (CC BY 2.5)

Kiyomizu-dera

Kyoto · Kyoto · buddhist temple · ★ 4.6 · 71,956 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist temple located in eastern Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Kita-Hosso sect of Japanese Buddhism and its honzon is a hibutsu statue of Jūichimen Kannon. The temple's full name is Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera. The temple is the 16th stop on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage route.

Kiyomizu-dera
Martin Falbisoner (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Tokyo Skytree

Tokyo · Tokyo · observation deck · ★ 4.4 · 118,801 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Tokyo Skytree, a.k.a Tokyo Sky Tree, is a broadcasting and observation tower, located in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan.

Tokyo Skytree
Akonnchiroll (CC0)

Kinkaku-ji

Kyoto · Kyoto · buddhist temple · ★ 4.6 · 69,939 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Kinkaku-ji, officially named Rokuon-ji, is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan and a tourist attraction. It is designated as a World Heritage Site, a National Special Historic Site, a National Special Landscape, and one of the 17 Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.

Kinkaku-ji
Basile Morin (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Osaka Castle

Osaka · Osaka · castle · ★ 4.4 · 99,119 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi–Momoyama period.

Osaka Castle
663highland (CC BY 2.5)

Himeji Castle

Himeji · Hyogo · castle · ★ 4.6 · 58,806 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in Himeji, a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 structures with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period.

Himeji Castle
_steffen (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meiji Jingu

Tokyo · Tokyo · shinto shrine · ★ 4.6 · 52,503 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Meiji Shrine (明治神宮, Meiji Jingū) is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-momoyama, south of Kyoto.

Meiji Jingu
Akonnchiroll (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Dotonbori

Osaka · Osaka · tourist attraction · ★ 4.4 · 84,432 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Dōtonbori or Dōtombori is a district in Osaka, Japan. Known as one of Osaka's principal tourist and nightlife areas, the area runs along the Dōtonbori canal from Dōtonboribashi Bridge to Nipponbashi Bridge in the Namba district of the city's Chūō ward.

Dotonbori
Kang-min Liu (CC BY 2.0)

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

Osaka · Osaka · aquarium · ★ 4.5 · 60,960 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

The Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan is an aquarium located in the ward of Minato in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, near Osaka Bay. When it opened in 1990, it was the largest public aquarium in the world.

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
Sakai Yayoi (CC0)

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Tokyo · Tokyo · garden · ★ 4.6 · 45,575 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Shinjuku Gyo-en or Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is a large public garden in Shinjuku and Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally a residence of the Naitō family in the Edo period. It later became a garden under the management of Japan Imperial Household Agency.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Kakidai (CC BY-SA 3.0)

teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM

Tokyo · Tokyo · art museum · ★ 4.5 · 55,531 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM.com is an art museum that utilizes digital technology and was established by teamLab and DMM.com. It is located in 6-chome, Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo.

teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM
Sasa0403 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Atomic Bomb Dome

Hiroshima · Hiroshima · ★ 4.7 · 34,390 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (広島平和記念碑, Hiroshima Heiwa Kinenhi), originally the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, and now commonly called the Genbaku Dome, Atomic Bomb Dome or A-Bomb Dome (原爆ドーム, Genbaku Dōmu), is part of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, and was designated a UNESCO…

Samurai and Ninja Museum Kyoto

Kyoto · Kyoto · amusement center · ★ 4.8 · 25,729 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Todai-ji

Nara · Nara · buddhist temple · ★ 4.7 · 31,830 reviews · Open in Google Maps ↗

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Japan. The construction of the temple was an attempt to imitate Chinese temples from the much-admired Tang dynasty.

Todai-ji
Wiiii (CC BY-SA 3.0)