Must-see attractions in Kansai

  • Osaka, Japan - April 30, 2017: tourists looking Osaka city at Abeno Harukas, the tallest skyscraper in Japan. The building stands on top of Kintetsu Osaka Abenobashi Station near JR Tennoji Station.
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Abeno Harukas Observatory

    Abeno Harukas

    Osaka

    This César Pelli–designed tower, which opened in March 2014, is Japan's tallest building (300m, 60 storeys). The observatory on the 16th floor is free,…

  • Row of stone lanterns at Oku-no-in cemetery.

    Oku-no-in

    Kii Peninsula

    Oku-no-in, whose name means 'inner sanctuary', is perhaps the most intensely spiritual place in Japan. At its farthest reaches is the Gobyō, the crypt…

  • Todai-ji Temple, Nara

    Tōdai-ji

    Nara

    Nara's star attraction is its Daibutsu (Great Buddha), one of the largest bronze statues in the world. It was unveiled in 752, upon the completion of the…

  • Naikū

    Kansai

    Ise-jingū's inner shrine is dedicated to the sun goddess, Amaterasu-Ōmikami, considered the ancestral goddess of the imperial family and guardian deity of…

  • Horyuji Temple, Nara, Japan

    Hōryū-ji

    Nara

    Hōryū-ji was founded in 607 by Prince Shōtoku, considered by many to be the patron saint of Japanese Buddhism. It's renowned not only as one of the oldest…

  • 500px Photo ID: 104742241 - Photo taken at Kurama-dera, Sakyo ward, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan.

    Kurama-dera

    Kansai

    Located high on a thickly wooded mountain, Kurama-dera is one of the few temples in modern Japan that manages to retain an air of real spirituality. This…

  • Osaka Castle in Morning
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    Osaka-jō

    Osaka

    After unifying Japan in the late 16th century, General Toyotomi Hideyoshi built this castle (1583) as a display of power, using, it's said, the labour of…

  • Japan, Kinki Region, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, View of Sanzen-in Temple. (Photo by: JTB/UIG via Getty Images) (Photo by: JTB Photo/UIG via Getty Images)

    Sanzen-in

    Kansai

    Famed for its autumn foliage, hydrangea garden and stunning Buddha statues, this temple is deservedly popular with foreign and domestic tourists alike…

  • Tourists walking around crowded Osaka Dotonbori entertainment district
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    Dōtombori

    Osaka

    Highly photogenic Dōtombori is the city's liveliest night spot and the centre of the southern part of town. Its name comes from the 400-year-old canal,…

  • Nachi, Japan at the pagoda of Seigantoji and Nachi no Taki waterfall.; Shutterstock ID 693876538; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kii Peninsula page online images for BiT

    Nachi-no-taki

    Kii Peninsula

    At 133m, Nachi-no-taki is Japan's highest waterfall. It's the first of many still deeper in the Nachi mountains and has long been used in ascetic training.

  • Nara National Museum

    Nara

    This world-class museum of Buddhist art is divided into two sections. Built in 1894 and strikingly renovated in 2016, the Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall &…

  • Bujō-ji

    Kansai

    Bujō-ji was founded in the 12th century by Emperor Toba, and while the main hall has been repaired over the years it stands pretty much the same as it…

  • Miho Museum

    Kansai

    Secluded amid hills and valleys near the village of Shigaraki, this knockout museum houses the Koyama family collection of Japanese, Middle Eastern,…

  • Kimpusen-ji

    Kansai

    Kimpusen-ji, founded in the 7th century, is believed to be the incubator of Shugendō, a unique Buddhist sect that incorporates Shintō traditions and…

  • Kumano Hongū Taisha

    Kii Peninsula

    Kumano Hongū Taisha is one of the Kumano Sanzan (three great shrines of Kumano) and if you're following the traditional pilgrim route, it's the first one…

  • Kasuga Taisha

    Nara

    Founded in the 8th century, this sprawling shrine at the foot of Mikasa-yama was created to protect the new capital, Nara. It was ritually rebuilt every…

  • Amerika-Mura

    Osaka

    West of Midō-suji, Amerika-Mura is a compact enclave of hip, youth-focused and offbeat shops, plus cafes, bars, tattoo and piercing parlours, nightclubs,…

  • Hikone-jō

    Kansai

    Completed in 1622, this diminutive castle of the Ii family of daimyō (domain lords) is rightly considered a National Treasure; much of it remains in its…

  • Murō-ji

    Kansai

    Secluded in thick forest, this Shingon temple was founded in the 9th century. It's nicknamed 'Women's Kōya-san' because, unlike the more famous centre of…

  • Gobyō

    Kii Peninsula

    The wooden, thatched roof gate here is as far as you can go in Oku-no-in. Beyond it lies the crypt Kōbō Daishi entered in 835, never to leave. Pilgrims in…

  • National Museum of Ethnology

    Osaka

    This ambitious museum showcases the world's cultures, presenting them as the continuous (and tangled) strings that they are. There are plenty of…

  • Shrine at Geku (Outer Shrine), Ise-Jingu Grand Shrine, Ise, Kansai (Western Province), Honshu, Japan

    Ise-jingū

    Kansai

    Believed to have been founded in the 3rd century, Ise-jingū is Japan's most venerated Shintō shrine. It’s in two parts – Gekū, the outer shrine, and Naikū…

  • WAKAYAMA, JAPAN - OCTOBER 29: Danjo Garan Temple in Wakayama, Japan on October 29, 2014. Established in 816 by priest "Kukai" as meditating place and it's a part of Kongobuji temple in Mt. Koya; Shutterstock ID 303576560; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kii Peninsula page online images for BiT

    Garan

    Kii Peninsula

    The name of this temple, which is sometimes called Danjo Garan or Dai Garan, derives from the Sanskrit saṅghārāma, which means monastery. With eight…

  • Excited school children gazing at sting rays at Osaka Aquarium.

    Osaka Aquarium Kaiyūkan

    Osaka

    Kaiyūkan is among Japan's best aquariums. An 800m-plus walkway winds past displays of sea life from around the Pacific 'ring of fire': Antarctic penguins,…

  • Yakushi-ji

    Nara

    Yakushi-ji was established by Emperor Temmu in 680 as a prayer for his ailing wife (who actually outlived him to accede to the throne). With the exception…

  • Konpon Daito Pagoda at Danjo Garan Temple, Mount Koya, Wakayama, Japan; Shutterstock ID 661087084; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kii Peninsula page online images for BiT

    Konpon Daitō

    Kii Peninsula

    The most interesting structure at the Garan is the Konpon Daitō, a 50m-tall, bright-vermilion pagoda seated at what is considered to be the centre of the…

  • Kōfuku-ji

    Nara

    Kōfuku-ji was founded in Kyoto in 669 and relocated here in 710. The original Nara temple complex had 175 buildings, though much has been lost over the…

  • Tōshōdai-ji

    Nara

    Tōshōdai-ji was established in 759 by influential Chinese priest Ganjin (Jian Zhen), recruited by Emperor Shōmu to reform Buddhism in Japan. The main…

  • Mii-dera

    Kansai

    Established in 672, over a century before the founding of Kyoto, Mii-dera gets its name for its three springs ('mi' means 'three' and 'i' means 'spring')…

  • Gekū

    Kansai

    Ise-jingū's outer shrine dates from the 5th century and enshrines the god of food, clothing and housing, Toyo'uke-no-Ōmikami. Daily offerings of rice are…

  • Kōfuku-ji National Treasure Museum

    Nara

    Reopened in 2018, this compact museum houses Kōfuku-ji's most important works of art, many of which date to the 8th century (and have managed to survive…

  • Tōdai-ji Nandai-mon

    Nara

    The great south gate of Tōdai-ji contains two fierce-looking Niō (guardians). These recently restored wooden images, carved in the 13th century by famed…

  • A view of the zen garden of the Kongobuji temple, Koyasan, Japan; Shutterstock ID 59794360; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kii Peninsula page online images for BiT

    Kongōbu-ji

    Kii Peninsula

    This is the headquarters of the Shingon sect and the residence of Kōya-san's abbot. The main gate is the temple's oldest structure (1593); the present…

  • WAKAYAMA, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 19, 2015: Kumano Nachi Taisha Grand Shrine located in Nachi Katsuura Town, it's one the three most important Grand Shrines of Kumano region; Shutterstock ID 395348893; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kii Peninsula page online images for BiT

    Kumano Nachi Taisha

    Kii Peninsula

    Built on the side of a mountain, facing the waterfall Nachi-no-taki, this shrine is one of Kii's most spiritual places, a site of ancient nature worship…

  • Kumano Hayatama Taisha, Shingu, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan; Shutterstock ID 681671041; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kii Peninsula page online images for BiT

    Kumano Hayatama Taisha

    Kii Peninsula

    Located at the mouth of the Kumano-gawa, Kumano Hayatama Taisha is one of the Kumano Sanzan (three sacred shrines of Kumano), enshrining Hayatama-no-Okami…

  • Colorful signs and Tsutenkaku tower in Osaka

    Shin-Sekai

    Osaka

    A century ago, Shin-Sekai ('new world') was home to an amusement park that defined cutting edge. Now this entertainment district mixes down-at-heel with…

  • Jakkō-in

    Kansai

    Jakkō-in is a small temple on the opposite side of Ōhara from Sanzen-in. It’s reached by a pleasant 15-minute walk from the bus station through an ‘old…

  • JAPAN - DECEMBER 10: Sumiyoshi Taisha Shinto Shrine, Osaka, Japan, 3rd century. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

    Sumiyoshi Taisha

    Osaka

    Dedicated to Shintō deities of the sea and sea travel, this graceful shrine was founded in the early 3rd century and is considered the headquarters for…

  • (Isui-en garden View from), Todaiji Temple, Nara ..Todaiji Temple Nandaimon.., Kinki, Japan

    Isui-en & Neiraku Art Museum

    Nara

    Isui-en is an elegant garden in two parts: one created in the 17th century, in the style of an Edo-period (1603–1868) strolling garden, and another added…

  • Osaka, Japan - 3 November 2015 - Taiyo no To was created by Japanese artist Taro Okamoto.; Shutterstock ID 515763919; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Osaka city app POI images

    Tower of the Sun

    Osaka

    The 70m-tall Tower of the Sun was created by Japanese artist Okamoto Tarō for Osaka's Expo '70. While the curious three-faced creature (there's one face…