Explore
90 places across Japan and South Korea
Kanda Myojin Shrine
A 1,300-year-old shrine that blesses laptops.
teamLab Planets TOKYO
Walk barefoot through knee-deep water and projected light.
Nezu Shrine
A miniature torii tunnel without the Kyoto queue.
Philosopher's Path
Two kilometres of canal, cherry trees and small temples.
Kurama to Kibune
A two-hour mountain crossing between two villages.
Gion Shirakawa
The quiet half of Gion, along a willow-lined canal.
Hōnen-in
A thatched gate, two sand mounds, and almost nobody.
Shinsekai & Tsūtenkaku
A 1912 vision of the future, preserved by neglect.
Sensō-ji
Tokyo’s oldest temple, and it never stops moving.
Sumida Park Riverside
The river walk with the Skytree on one side.
Tomioka Hachimangū
The shrine where sumo became a public sport.
Fukagawa Fudōdō
Drums, fire and a wall of ten thousand crystals.
Kiyosumi Garden
A stroll garden built on famous stones.
Sumida Hokusai Museum
The Great Wave, in the district where he lived.
Ueno Park
Four major museums, a zoo and a thousand cherry trees.
Tokyo National Museum
The country’s collection, in one building.
Yushima Tenmangū
Where Tokyo goes to pray for exam results.
Yanaka Cemetery
A cherry avenue running through the old city’s graves.
SCAI The Bathhouse
A 200-year-old bathhouse showing contemporary art.
Rikugien Garden
The most literary garden in the city.
Koishikawa Kōrakuen
Tokyo’s oldest garden, with a baseball dome behind it.
Imperial Palace East Gardens
The keep of Edo Castle, and the lawn where it stood.
Hama-rikyū Gardens
A shogun’s duck-hunting garden, ringed by towers.
Meiji Jingū
A hundred-thousand-tree forest, planted from nothing.
Yoyogi Park
Where Tokyo goes to be unsupervised.
Tōgō Shrine & Antique Market
A pond, a shrine, and a flea market on the first Sunday.
Nezu Museum
A Kengo Kuma building over a hidden garden.
Aoyama Cemetery Avenue
A cherry tunnel through the middle of Aoyama.
Gōtokuji
A thousand beckoning cats on one shelf.
Inokashira Park
Swan boats, buskers, and the Ghibli Museum in the trees.
Mori Art Museum
Contemporary art on the 53rd floor, open until ten.
21_21 DESIGN SIGHT
Tadao Andō built it mostly underground.
teamLab Borderless
Rooms of light with no map and no fixed route.
Hie Shrine
A tunnel of red torii climbing out of Akasaka.
Zōjōji
A 1622 gate with Tokyo Tower directly behind it.
Yasaka Shrine
Four hundred lanterns, lit every night of the year.
Maruyama Park
The weeping cherry that Kyoto plans April around.
Chion-in
The largest wooden gate in Japan, at the top of the steps.
Kōdai-ji
A widow’s temple, with a bamboo path behind it.
Ninenzaka & Sannenzaka
Two stone lanes of preserved wooden shopfronts.
Yasaka Kōshin-dō
A tiny hall hung with thousands of coloured cloth balls.
Kennin-ji
Kyoto’s oldest Zen temple, with twin dragons overhead.
Sanjūsangen-dō
A thousand and one gilded statues in one long room.
Nanzen-ji Aqueduct
A Roman-looking brick aqueduct inside a Zen temple.
Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji
The temple Kyoto agrees is best in November.
Ginkaku-ji
The Silver Pavilion, which was never silvered.
Nijō Castle
The floors squeak on purpose.
Kyoto Imperial Palace Park
Ninety hectares of gravel, pine and quiet.