Top 10 Classical Treasures of JAPAN / World Heritage

This is our Top 10 Classic Treasures and Wonderful Places of Japan! Temples, Sanctuaries and Places with a lot of history, many of them World Heritage Sites! (You can watch the video or continue reading below)

Virtually all of these are constructions, they are buildings made by human beings, not natural, which allude to the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, which is why they are the classic wonders. For classic wonders let’s say they are buildings that are at least 100 to 200 years old or older. And also that it represents something in the history of Japan. Of course, that it has a special cultural value within the history of Japan, not only because of its beauty but also because of its historical significance, its moment, etc.

Obviously there are many more wonderful buildings and places in Japan, we are not saying that these are the only ones, we are not saying that they are the most beautiful or that they are the must-sees to visit, they are simply what we consider to be truly priceless jewels within Japanese culture, and well, without further ado, we are starting.

kinkakuji

It is the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto. It’s very pretty, it’s in the middle of a lake and the view is amazing, it’s beautiful. Basically it is a zen temple, now it is a buddhist temple. He had it made by a Shogun, he was a believer within this sect so it was his wish that they continue to use it for this purpose after his death. He is a jewel in the eyes, he is sweet to the eyes, I had the great fortune to go see him, to meet him with my family when I was younger with my parents. It is currently so famous that unfortunately it is very little time that people can stop to see it, take a picture almost immediately and continue walking but before it was easier to see it. It has never been possible to enter, that is, it is possible to enter for people but not for visitors, and it is covered with gold leaves.

This building looks very beautiful, the scenery looks very beautiful in any season. In winter, in fact, you can even see the snow on top of the lake, it looks very beautiful. And it’s a very rich gold glitter, don’t think it looks dull. For example, there is another building, another temple called the “Ginkakuji” silver temple that was actually built by the grandson of this shogun, he ordered it inspired by the “kinkakuji” and the “ginkakuji” if it has silver but unfortunately the silver, since it ages very quickly and darkens and most of the exterior is wooden so when you see it you don’t really see a wooden building I mean silver, you see a wooden building. So it makes you feel a bit freaky but in the case of the “Kinkakuji” it’s perfectly golden and unmistakable. And one thing that we also have to clarify with practically all the buildings in Japan is that they are always rebuilt, not necessarily because they are damaged, that is, if there have been fires, some due to earthquakes, others due to war conflicts, etc. but even when the building is perfect it is rebuilt from time to time as part of the maintenance.

Part of the maintenance many times means removing it and putting on the identical wooden beams again, it also depended on the time because when there was a shortage they made it a little smaller, when there was an abundance again they made it a little bigger, but practically the same design and rebuild multiple times. The current version of the “Kinkakuji” is a construction from 1955 but it is a perfect copy of the previous ones, obviously the unique pieces such as gold, etc. they are the same. The wooden parts are built to maintain it, whichever supports the most.

kiyomizudera

This temple has a part like a balcony type that is very characteristic of this temple, it is about 13 meters high and you practically see all of Kyoto down. Obviously there are trees below and in autumn and spring it looks very beautiful, there is also the change in the color of the leaves, the flowers, in fact if you saw our video of Kyoto we visited in this video, we take you to “Kiyomizudera”. It is a temple that, in addition to everything, is very significant for the city of Kyoto, not only because you can see everything, but also because of its historical and cultural importance within all traditions. It is currently classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And it consists of several small pieces, although the main one is the one that was mentioned, the one on the balcony is unmistakable, also a must in all postcards, it also has some very tall pagodas and from there they take the perfect photographs of Kyoto, which is Kyoto, Mount Fuji and the pagoda. That typical take is from Kiyomizudera and apart from getting to Kiyomizudera as it is because it is close to the area of ​​Gion which is where it is famous for geisha and maiko, you can walk from Gion passing several streets across the river and up to Kiyomizudera through very traditional areas, very old houses, small businesses, stone alleys that really transport you to that Edo era or before Edo.

It’s pretty much the old area of ​​Kyoto. All of Kyoto is old but that is the feeling, it is not where you will find a skyscraper or a glass building, but everything is wood, everything smells of incense.

himeji castle

It is a traditional Japanese castle from the Edo period and it is how you imagine a Japanese castle must be, with its pagodas, with its roofs and its walls and different levels so that you have to go up and up and up to that typical castle that you had to invade in Nintendo video games. Yes, in the Civilization game it is set as a marvel. And well, it has many peculiarities from its design, its design is the perfect defense, it has been studied many times for a long time and analyzes have been made of how it was designed in order to be able to stop the enemy at different scales, at different levels and to be able to defend it. counterattacking and practically leading the enemy by the hand unfortunately deadly traps. And also diminishing the army with each step it took.

This castle was never destroyed during wars, including the second war fortunately, but even during Japan’s unification wars it was never destroyed. It is in Hyogo prefecture. It is one of the biggest castles, in fact it seems to me that it has five floors but it looks much bigger because there are the walls and it has other buildings around it that make it look bigger. This is the feudal castle in Japan that has been best preserved, in the same way that they say it has not been destroyed in wars, that is why it has that record.

Let’s say that it’s been around since 1300 and hasn’t stopped for long without anyone being able to do anything against it and we’re talking about the Hyogo area being an area where there are a lot of tremors like almost all of Japan but recently, that is, recently in the last 20 or The earthquake of 1995 lasted 30 years, I think it was from Kobe and the Himeji castle is fortunately practically intact, so it is a fortress, until now fortunately against invaders and against nature itself. It has been impressive.

todaiji

It is located in Nara. This temple is one of the oldest in Japan, it was built around the year 750 and something and at that time, being Nara the capital, it had a lot of influence over political decisions, the Buddhist monks influenced political decisions a lot. It is that this temple was like the center of the capital, the main temple was “the headquarters” of the Buddhists of the entire province, from all geographical areas. Then he was so religiously powerful that his power, his influence spilled over and reached the government’s decisions that obviously the government being in Nara it was very easy to find this… at one time synergy but at another time it was like meddling. That’s how it is and then for the same reason they decided to change the capital from Nara to Nagaoka a few years after having built this temple so that the influence would dissipate or be minimized or less present. The power of the Buddhists within the government decisions that would change the entire country was not felt so much. In this temple is the bronze Buddha, that is, the statue is obviously not a real Buddha, it is the largest bronze Buddha statue that exists. There are larger Buddha statues but in bronze it is the largest.

They are about 15 meters tall. I was also there and the temple is truly monumental, you feel very small and I think, maybe I’m wrong, but in my opinion, it’s the largest wooden structure I’ve ever seen in my life. And obviously it is huge, so big that the same Buddha that if you are inside is huge but it seems small to you, it has plenty of space. In fact, I think it says one of the hands because it is like this in a certain position and you can see its palm and they say that the palm of the hand is more or less the size of an average person and you more or less calculate, well, if it has to be see big, but with the whole temple, as you say, it must be seen small. And another peculiarity, there is also a column where there is a small hole made by humans where, let’s say, a dog passes without any problem and very thin people, it is said to be the Buddha’s nostril and if you manage to pass through it from one side on the other, entering one side and exiting the other without getting stuck, without any setbacks you will have very good fortune, you will have blessings and perhaps enlightenment or a good life in the next, a good reincarnation.

Itsukushimajinjya

This sanctuary refers to the religious place but Shintoism, not Buddhism so the difference with the temple is similar. They have also seen this in a lot of postcards, the stones with the very calm water, the sunset and an arch, a Shinto “tori” gate that closes this image. So it is and it is that this door and the temple go together. They are in Hiroshima on the island of Miyajima but although it is known more as the Miyajima temple, not so much by the name of Itsukushima. Yes, because it is the place where it is located, Miyajima. That’s right, so what this has, well, it’s how you say that the arch is, the door in the sea, and well, your visit does depend on the tide. It’s not strictly that it’s in the sea, well if it’s in the sea but it’s where the tide goes up and down, so at certain times of the day when the tide is low you can go, walk and people can go and take pictures or whatever you want, but all those who are looking from afar do not have that beautiful view, but if you wait towards the afternoon the tide rises and that is when you see the entire floor covered with calm water that is very… so mystical.

Nikko

Although more specifically the Toshogu temple, which is the place where the remains are, that is, the mausoleum, the building is the Tokugawa Ieyasu mausoleum, that’s where he decided he wanted his remains to be placed and they built this construction. And it is a construction very different from the other constructions, other temples in Japan because it seems to me, it gives me the impression that it is like a baroque style or something like that. It is very decorated, it really is a shrine, that is, it is mainly Shinto. I’m not totally sure if he is already together with the Buddhists as well. It is already the whole area is Shinto and Buddhist at the same time. It was that moment when they were still together, where there was no problem that they were in the same place but as you say, those that would be the dovecotes in Western churches are very ornate, all these things have many wooden ornaments and have many wooden high reliefs, it is Very particular. It has some gold decorations, some gold parts and this is where you can find these famous little monkeys: one that covers its eyes, another its ears and another its mouth. There is also this red bridge that is probably also located by postcards, calendars that is called Shinkyo, it is the Shinkyo bridge that rather belongs to another temple that is next door but that joins both sides where the temples are and a river passes underneath. This place is beautiful, Ro went on her graduation trip and came back fascinated. Then, it has one of the tallest pagodas in Japan, it is also quite old, I understand that it is one of the very few sanctuaries and temples, sanctuaries because it is more on the Shinto side, which has a monkey as its protector or representative. There are many sanctuaries that are correlated with some animal in some way, the Nara area has always been closely related to deer, so there are many temples to deer, there are an infinity of temples to the fox, the most, Inari. So there are not so many temples that worship the monkey but this is one of the few temples where the monkey is the sacred animal.

Fushimi Inarijinjya

It is a shrine in Kyoto where the patron is the fox, Inari. That in fact it is not that Inari is the fox but the foxes are linked to Inari. Inari is a deity and so when it is said that such an animal is worshiped, it is rather that he is the animal that is linked to that deity, so there are a lot of fox figurines throughout the sanctuary. You probably also keep in mind this tunnel of red tori gates, one after another, one after another that make like tunnels that go up a mountain that later when you get to the top you have a very nice view of Kyoto. And it has that articulation again as a Japanese sanctuary of that magical mixture between nature and human artifice and apart from that it is a sanctuary that goes over the mountain so you go up stairs, you walk corridors, coming across different monuments, parts of the temple or sanctuary because there are both and with different gates, paths and the bamboo forest on the sides it is very magical. Maybe this is from a long time ago, it is from around the end of the 700s when Kyoto was the capital, because the capital of Japan has passed through many cities, at that time it was Kyoto and obviously this implied that it had more money, it had more influence cultural etc and these things were built. You can find it south of Kyoto very easily if you arrive and stay in Kyoto.

shirakawago

It is a small town that is in the province of Shirakawa but this small town is like that inside, in a very flat part towards the inside of the mountains, something like that, there are little wooden houses with roofs like straw and with a very angled roof similar to Two praying hands, a perfect isosceles triangle, and the ceiling almost reaches the ground. This slope and this length is made so that the snow falls easily from the roof and the roof does not collapse because this area is wooded, the snow is very strong, the snowfall is brutal, in fact my family from my mother are from Gifu and there the snow hits with so much snow that people have to leave the second floor of their houses. The particularity of this town is that they have kept it that way, it is practically a town stopped in time, it is like the village of Asterix and Obelix. Honestly, it seems like this to me, the houses are in the middle of this small valley between the mountains where if you go in winter you will find yourself all upholstered in white, the houses are hidden with the smoke from the chimneys, well, there are no chimneys as is, but the smoke coming out of the homes and in the summer it’s all bright green. Some of these houses are original from 250 years ago, in fact, for the maintenance of each house, each person must do their own maintenance, but as if they are checking them so that everything is fine, let’s say that since it is a world heritage site, that’s how it is they want to maintain and so they take care of every detail so that they continue with this tradition. To give them perfect maintenance. Many of these houses also currently serve as a museum and those that are not museums are “bed and breakfast” type, the most traditional version of the B&B. Obviously you are not going to have the comforts of a B&B as well as in New York. It’s a town but that’s the charm. Staying in the town. Currently, well lately it has suffered a lot with climate change and the heat is so strong that there has been fire danger several times, fortunately it has never spread in a serious way, or for the same reason they installed very professional, modern, incredible fire fighting systems, You don’t notice them, they’re not even invasive, just like in James Bond movies suddenly a little circle opens up in the ground and a literal tube comes out, the earth really opens up, if you see the dirt road and a hole opens up and A tube comes out and begins to draw water from all sides, so during the summer they even have certain days in which they spray water to lower the temperature to lower the dryness of the straw, the wood and that everything becomes a little damp again . And it’s really worth getting to know, it’s not difficult to get to, that is, there is a train that arrives without any problem, it’s touristy but it’s not one of the tourist places that you’ll find stuck, honestly it’s not like Inari in Kyoto or Kiyomizudera that always goes There will always be many people, there will always be many lines to see, to enter, to pose for the photo and that. There are people here but not so many.

Kamakura

It is very close to our area. Earlier at some point in the history of Japan it was also the capital. There is a very important temple, because it is also full of temples. That’s right, it is that being the capital once you become the capital of Japan was a ticket to have a good number of temples and buildings and theaters etc. So it was no exception, many temples were built in Kamakura, but it has a special place where there is a huge Buddha in the lotus position. It is also made of bronze, although it is a little smaller than the one we have already mentioned and it measures 13 meters more or less. What this Buddha has is that you can enter the Buddha and it has some stairs and you can see from above, of course, in summer they are a bit careful because it does get very hot since it is made of bronze. Yes, imagine an oven there. This Buddha is outside, unlike the one in Nara, which is inside a closed space, so also the opportunity for photography, the way the light hits it, the bronze finish, everything was different, it aged differently and so on. And there is a very curious anecdote because Kamakura, like all of this Shonan coast where we also live, throughout the history of Japan was hit by tsunami at different times and throughout the city of Kamakura you see advertisements for the height at sea level on the that you are and the evacuation routes due to tsunami danger. There are also signs that tell you the sea is over there so that rather than if you hear a tsunami alarm, you run to the other side. And at the time when there was the last tsunami that flooded the city of Kamakura, practically the only thing that survived intact was this Buddha, that is, the entire temple, all the houses suffered a lot of damage, some were taken by the sea, etc. . The sea came and got to where the Buddha was and the Buddha resisted, it didn’t move it, it didn’t do anything to it, of course it has some, I don’t know, I think it was 90 tons and it took the sea a little bit to try to move something, or luckily it didn’t nothing happened, but it is also part of the anecdote of what makes it so special. This is one of the places along with Nikko that are very close to Tokyo, the difference I think is closer to this one and there are direct trains to Kamakura from Tokyo, on the same day you can go, visit there for a while, return and still go see the Tokyo Tower, that is, it is very close. It is one of those very traditional, very old places, with a lot of Japanese culture, close to Tokyo. There you can see the Japanese essence very close if you are in Tokyo. Or even if you want to go to the beach, you’re in Tokyo, you go to Kamakura, you see a bit of the Buddha and then you go to Shonan and you go to Enoshima to swim and surf. So it is a highly recommended place for those who do not have much opportunity, those who go to Tokyo on business quickly, whatever, do not have much time, to be able to visit this without having to go to much older and more distant places.

Echizen Ono Castle

It is a castle that is located in the Fukui prefecture called Ono castle, this is known as the cloud castle. This castle is on a mountain and then there are some early mornings that it looks as if the clouds were there, they already see the fog coming down and it looks as if this castle were inside the clouds. Being at the top, if there are trees but you can see the castle tower and everything and this sea is made around almost to the top of the mountain, then practically all you see are a few trees and the castle in a sea of clouds. That’s how it is and it’s very beautiful, this happens very rarely, about ten or twelve times a year and it occurs with the change in temperature and what if the humidity and all this. Where they say that it occurs the most is in autumn so to consider if you want to visit the castle of the clouds you can do it in autumn when planning your trip. They are one of those mystical places like from fantasy movies and so they are one of the favorite places for people to do timelapse type where since it is dark and it is dawn and you begin to see the light that falls on the clouds and the clouds like good clouds they are transforming and moving and it looks like the waves that move around this castle. It is one of these places that you do not visit, but visit the one next door to enjoy it, it is like you do not go to Mount Fuji to see Mount Fuji, you have to visit the surrounding mountains to take a photo of Mount Fuji. Same with this castle, probably not many people will visit it because the charm of this castle is to see him. And well, when you get up a little earlier in the morning and that it is also an ideal night and ideal early morning for this phenomenon to occur. If you have a photo or video of the time you went to visit this castle, then share it with us because it really is very special, even for local people, it is not something that you can schedule, like I am going in a certain month in six months because that day will be well. No, it’s almost luck from a couple of days before. In fact, the website of the city or of the temple, rather, has a livestream, a live camera so that if you already missed it at least you can see it at least on camera. And well there is the castle and below is the town, the shops and in general the streets everything is very much from the time when the castle was built around 400 years ago or so and you can see many samurai residences and many shops The time. When we said that it is not so much to visit the castle, of course it is also to visit the area of ​​the castle, the greatest charm is when you see it from afar but also the area of ​​the castle as such, going to see the castle is also something very beautiful, a Very nice experience, highly recommended.

Conclusions

Which of these wonders did you like the most, which ones did you already know, which ones have you visited, which ones would you like to visit? Tell us about it in the comments. And if you want to help us a little more, we invite you to follow us on PATREON where starting at $3 a month you will receive many benefits such as spoilers, unpublished material, discounts on our website.

The best way to travel within Japan is by train, very punctual and convenient, although it can be expensive. To have an even better price, we recommend traveling with the Japan Railways universal pass called JR PASS , which can be purchased on their website. This pass is purchased before traveling to Japan , arriving at the airport or at any train station , you can pick up your pass with proof of purchase .