Items19The creator’s order
  1. 1Sannai-Maruyama SiteSannai-Maruyama SiteThe oldest chapter on this list is a large Jomon village in Aomori, occupied from about 3900 to 2200 BCE, a span of roughly 1,700 years. Excavations that began in 1992 revealed how big the settlement really was, and more than 2,000 clay figurines came out of its mounds. A reconstructed…0
  2. 2Mozu Kofun GroupMozu Kofun GroupEmperor Nintoku Kofun (Daisen Kofun), Sakai Keyhole-shaped burial mounds surrounded by moats are the great monuments of Japan's early rulers, and the largest here, believed to be the tomb of Emperor Nintoku, is about 800 meters long and 600 meters wide including its moats. The catch is that the…0
  3. 3Kumano KodōKumano KodōStarting in the 10th century, members of the imperial family walked from Kyoto down the Kii Peninsula to the three grand shrines of Kumano, Hongu Taisha, Nachi Taisha and Hayatama Taisha, and retired emperors and aristocrats made the same arduous journey. Here the pilgrimage itself is the sight,…0
  4. 4Chūson-jiChūson-jiIn 1105 Hiraizumi became the seat of the northern branch of the Fujiwara, the most powerful clan of the Heian period, and this town in Iwate came to rival Kyoto itself. Chusonji is what survives of that northern golden age. Its Konjikido, a small hall completely covered in gold, dates back to 1124…0
  5. 5Itsukushima ShrineItsukushima ShrineIn 1168 Taira no Kiyomori chose Miyajima as the site of his clan's family shrine. The halls and the famous torii gate stand over the water, so at high tide the whole shrine seems to float in the sea. Check the tide times before you go, because the effect depends on them. It became a World Heritage…0
  6. 6Kōtoku-inKōtoku-inGreat Buddha (Daibutsu), Kamakura Kamakura became Japan's political center when Minamoto Yoritomo chose it as the seat of his new military government in the late 12th century, and this bronze Amida Buddha, cast in 1252, is the most striking survivor of that era. At 11.4 meters it has long been the…0
  7. 7Iwami Ginzan Silver MineIwami Ginzan Silver MineThis Shimane mine opened in the early 16th century and stayed in business for nearly 400 years. UNESCO credits its large silver output in the 16th and early 17th centuries with driving trade and cultural exchange between Japan, East Asia and Europe. Travel guides often say it produced about a third…0
  8. 8Himeji CastleHimeji CastleIf you see one castle in Japan, make it this one. The complex as it survives today was completed in 1609, and unlike many Japanese castles it was never destroyed by war, earthquake or fire, which makes it the country's best preserved feudal castle and the place to see a whole fortress rather than a…0
  9. 9Matsumoto CastleMatsumoto CastleMatsumoto Castle is one of only a dozen castles whose main keep dates from before 1868, and a climb through it shows two eras in one building. The main keep and its smaller second donjon went up between 1592 and 1614, years when a castle still had to be ready to fight, while the moon-viewing turret…0
  10. 10Nikkō Tōshō-gūNikkō Tōshō-gūToshogu is the memorial to Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, and it shows the new regime's wealth at its most lavish. Ieyasu's grandson Iemitsu turned a fairly simple mausoleum into the spectacular complex seen today in the first half of the 17th century. Look for the Yomeimon,…0