If you are traveling to Japan, UNESCO’s World Heritage sites (https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/jp) will be one of the best sightseeing destinations during your trip. There are over 20 World Heritage sites across Japan now.

(from https://www.kankokeizai.com)

1. Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area (法隆寺地域の仏教建造物)
   • Description: There are around 48 Buddhist monuments in the Horyu-ji area, in Nara Prefecture. Several date from the late 7th or early 8th century, making them some of the oldest surviving wooden buildings in the world. These masterpieces of wooden architecture are important not only for the history of art, since they illustrate the adaptation of Chinese Buddhist architecture and layout to Japanese culture, but also for the history of religion, since their construction coincided with the introduction of Buddhism to Japan from China by way of the Korean peninsula. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/660))
   • Address: 奈良県 (1-1-1 Hōryūji Sannai, Ikaruga, Ikoma District, Nara 636-0115, Japan)
   • Link: http://www.horyuji.or.jp/
2. Himeji-jo (姫路城)
   • Description: Himeji-jo is the finest surviving example of early 17th-century Japanese castle architecture, comprising 83 buildings with highly developed systems of defence and ingenious protection devices dating from the beginning of the Shogun period. It is a masterpiece of construction in wood, combining function with aesthetic appeal, both in its elegant appearance unified by the white plastered earthen walls and in the subtlety of the relationships between the building masses and the multiple roof layers. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/661)
   • Address: 兵庫県 (68 Honmachi, Himeji, Hyogo 670-0012, Japan)
   • Link: https://www.city.himeji.lg.jp/castle/index.html
3. Shirakami-Sanchi (白神山地)
   • Description: Situated in the mountains of northern Honshu, this trackless site includes the last virgin remains of the cool-temperate forest of Siebold’s beech trees that once covered the hills and mountain slopes of northern Japan. The black bear, the serow and 87 species of birds can be found in this forest. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/663)
   • Address: 青森県・秋田県 (Kanda-61-1 Tashiro, Nishimeya, Nakatsugaru District, Aomori 036-1411, Japan)
   • Link: http://www.shirakami-visitor.jp/
4. Yakushima (屋久島)
   • Description: Located in the interior of Yaku Island, at the meeting-point of the palaearctic and oriental biotic regions, Yakushima exhibits a rich flora, with some 1,900 species and subspecies, including ancient specimens of the sugi (Japanese cedar). It also contains a remnant of a warm-temperate ancient forest that is unique in this region. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/662)
   • Address: 鹿児島県 (Yakushima Island, Yakushima, Kumage District, Kagoshima, Japan)
   • Link: http://yakukan.jp
5. Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) (古都京都の文化財)
   • Description: Built in A.D. 794 on the model of the capitals of ancient China, Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan from its foundation until the middle of the 19th century. As the centre of Japanese culture for more than 1,000 years, Kyoto illustrates the development of Japanese wooden architecture, particularly religious architecture, and the art of Japanese gardens, which has influenced landscape gardening the world over. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/688)
   • Address: 京都府・滋賀県 (Renge-116 Uji, Kyoto 611-0021, Japan)
   • Link: https://www.byodoin.or.jp/
6. Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama (白川郷・五箇山の合掌造り集落)
   • Description: Located in a mountainous region that was cut off from the rest of the world for a long period of time, these villages with their Gassho-style houses subsisted on the cultivation of mulberry trees and the rearing of silkworms. The large houses with their steeply pitched thatched roofs are the only examples of their kind in Japan. Despite economic upheavals, the villages of Ogimachi, Ainokura and Suganuma are outstanding examples of a traditional way of life perfectly adapted to the environment and people’s social and economic circumstances. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/734)
   • Address: 岐阜県・富山県 (Ogimachi, Shirakawa, Ono District, Gifu 501-5627, Japan)
   • Link: http://shirakawa-go.org/kankou/area01/
7. Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) (原爆ドーム)
   • Description: The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) was the only structure left standing in the area where the first atomic bomb exploded on 6 August 1945. Through the efforts of many people, including those of the city of Hiroshima, it has been preserved in the same state as immediately after the bombing. Not only is it a stark and powerful symbol of the most destructive force ever created by humankind; it also expresses the hope for world peace and the ultimate elimination of all nuclear weapons. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/775)
   • Address: 広島県 (1-chōme-1-10 Ōtemachi, Naka Ward, Hiroshima, 730-0051, Japan)
   • Link: http://www.city.hiroshima.lg.jp/toshiseibi/dome/index.html
8. Itsukushima Shinto Shrine (厳島神社)
   • Description: The island of Itsukushima, in the Seto inland sea, has been a holy place of Shintoism since the earliest times. The first shrine buildings here were probably erected in the 6th century. The present shrine dates from the 12th century and the harmoniously arranged buildings reveal great artistic and technical skill. The shrine plays on the contrasts in colour and form between mountains and sea and illustrates the Japanese concept of scenic beauty, which combines nature and human creativity. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/776)
   • Address: 広島県 (1-1 Miyajimachō, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima 739-0588, Japan)
   • Link: http://www.itsukushimajinja.jp/
9. Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara (古都奈良の文化財)
   • Description: Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784. During this period the framework of national government was consolidated and Nara enjoyed great prosperity, emerging as the fountainhead of Japanese culture. The city’s historic monuments – Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and the excavated remains of the great Imperial Palace – provide a vivid picture of life in the Japanese capital in the 8th century, a period of profound political and cultural change. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/870)
   • Address: 奈良県 (2400 E Fort Ave, Baltimore, MD 21230, USA)
   • Link: http://www.nps.gov/fomc/index.htm
10. Shrines and Temples of Nikko (日光の社寺)
    • Description: The shrines and temples of Nikko, together with their natural surroundings, have for centuries been a sacred site known for its architectural and decorative masterpieces. They are closely associated with the history of the Tokugawa Shoguns. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/913)
    • Address: 栃木県 (2301 Sannai, Nikko, Tochigi 321-1431, Japan)
    • Link: https://www.toshogu.jp/
11. Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu (琉球王国のグスクおよび関連遺産群)
    • Description: Five hundred years of Ryukyuan history (12th-17th century) are represented by this group of sites and monuments. The ruins of the castles, on imposing elevated sites, are evidence for the social structure over much of that period, while the sacred sites provide mute testimony to the rare survival of an ancient form of religion into the modern age. The wide- ranging economic and cultural contacts of the Ryukyu Islands over that period gave rise to a unique culture. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/972)
    • Address: 沖縄県 (Okinawa, Japan None)
    • Link: https://www.okinawastory.jp
12. Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (紀伊山地の霊場と参詣道)
    • Description: Set in the dense forests of the Kii Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean, three sacred sites – Yoshino and Omine, Kumano Sanzan, Koyasan – linked by pilgrimage routes to the ancient capital cities of Nara and Kyoto, reflect the fusion of Shinto, rooted in the ancient tradition of nature worship in Japan, and Buddhism, which was introduced from China and the Korean Peninsula. The sites (506.4 ha) and their surrounding forest landscape reflect a persistent and extraordinarily well-documented tradition of sacred mountains over 1,200 years. The area, with its abundance of streams, rivers and waterfalls, is still part of the living culture of Japan and is much visited for ritual purposes and hiking, with up to 15 million visitors annually. Each of the three sites contains shrines, some of which were founded as early as the 9th century. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1142)
    • Address: 三重県・奈良県・和歌山県 (Kii Mountains, Shirakawa, Kamikitayama, Yoshino District, Nara 639-3703, Japan)
    • Link: https://www.sekaiisan-wakayama.jp
13. Shiretoko (知床)
    • Description: Shiretoko Peninsula is located in the north-east of Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. The site includes the land from the central part of the peninsula to its tip (Shiretoko Cape) and the surrounding marine area. It provides an outstanding example of the interaction of marine and terrestrial ecosystems as well as extraordinary ecosystem productivity, largely influenced by the formation of seasonal sea ice at the lowest latitude in the northern hemisphere. It has particular importance for a number of marine and terrestrial species, some of them endangered and endemic, such as Blackiston’s fish owl and the Viola kitamiana plant. The site is globally important for threatened seabirds and migratory birds, a number of salmonid species, and for marine mammals including Steller’s sea lion and some cetacean species. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1193)
    • Address: 北海道 (Shiretoko Peninsula, Onnebetsumura, Shari, Shari District, Hokkaido 099-4356, Japan)
    • Link: https://www.shiretoko.asia
14. Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape (石見銀山遺跡とその文化的景観)
    • Description: The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine in the south-west of Honshu Island is a cluster of mountains, rising to 600 m and interspersed by deep river valleys featuring the archaeological remains of large-scale mines, smelting and refining sites and mining settlements worked between the 16th and 20th centuries. The site also features routes used to transport silver ore to the coast, and port towns from where it was shipped to Korea and China. The mines contributed substantially to the overall economic development of Japan and south-east Asia in the 16th and 17th centuries, prompting the mass production of silver and gold in Japan. The mining area is now heavily wooded. Included in the site are fortresses, shrines, parts of Kaidô transport routes to the coast, and three port towns, Tomogaura, Okidomari and Yunotsu, from where the ore was shipped. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1246)
    • Address: 島根県 (Japan, 〒694-0305 Shimane, Oda, Ōmorichō, イ−１５９７−３)
    • Link: https://ginzan.city.ohda.lg.jp/
15. Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land (平泉‐仏国土 浄土を表す建築・庭園および考古学的遺跡群)
    • Description: Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land comprises five sites, including the sacred Mount Kinkeisan. It features vestiges of government offices dating from the 11th and 12th centuries when Hiraizumi was the administrative centre of the northern realm of Japan and rivalled Kyoto. The realm was based on the cosmology of Pure Land Buddhism, which spread to Japan in the 8th century. It represented the pure land of Buddha that people aspire to after death, as well as peace of mind in this life. In combination with indigenous Japanese nature worship and Shintoism, Pure Land Buddhism developed a concept of planning and garden design that was unique to Japan. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1277)
    • Address: 岩手県 (Hanadate, Hiraizumi, Nishiiwai District, Iwate 029-4100, Japan)
    • Link: http://www2.pref.iwate.jp/~sekaiisan/
16. Ogasawara Islands (小笠原諸島)
    • Description: The property numbers more than 30 islands clustered in three groups and covers surface area of 7,939 hectares. The islands offer a variety of landscapes and are home to a wealth of fauna, including the Bonin Flying Fox, a critically endangered bat, and 195 endangered bird species. Four-hundred and forty-one native plant taxa have been documented on the islands whose waters support numerous species of fish, cetaceans and corals. Ogasawara Islands’ ecosystems reflect a range of evolutionary processes illustrated through its assemblage of plant species from both southeast and northwest Asia, alongside many endemic species. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1362)
    • Address: 東京都 (Ogasawara Islands, Japan)
    • Link: None
17. Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration (富士山‐信仰の対象と芸術の源泉‐)
    • Description: The beauty of the solitary, often snow-capped, stratovolcano, known around the world as Mount Fuji, rising above villages and tree-fringed sea and lakes has long been the object of pilgrimages and inspired artists and poets. The inscribed property consists of 25 sites which reflect the essence of Fujisan’s sacred and artistic landscape. In the 12th century, Fujisan became the centre of training for ascetic Buddhism, which included Shinto elements. On the upper 1,500-metre tier of the 3,776m mountain, pilgrim routes and crater shrines have been inscribed alongside sites around the base of the mountain including Sengen-jinja shrines, Oshi lodging houses, and natural volcanic features such as lava tree moulds, lakes, springs and waterfalls, which are revered as sacred. Its representation in Japanese art goes back to the 11th century, but 19th century woodblock prints of views, including those from sand beaches with pine tree groves have made Fujisan an internationally recognized icon of Japan and have had a deep impact on the development of Western art. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1418)
    • Address: 山梨県・静岡県 (Mount Fuji, Kitayama, Fujinomiya, Shizuoka 418-0112, Japan)
    • Link: None
18. Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites (富岡製糸場と絹産業遺産群)
    • Description: This property is a historic sericulture and silk mill complex established in the late 19th and early 20th century in the Gunma prefecture, north-west of Tokyo. It consists of four sites that correspond to the different stages in the production of raw silk: a large raw silk reeling plant whose machinery and industrial expertise were imported from France; an experimental farm for production of cocoons; a school for the dissemination of sericulture knowledge; and a cold-storage facility for silkworm eggs. The site illustrates Japan’s desire to rapidly access the best mass production techniques, and became a decisive element in the renewal of sericulture and the Japanese silk industry in the last quarter of the 19th century. Tomioka Silk Mill and its related sites became the centre of innovation for the production of raw silk and marked Japan’s entry into the modern, industrialized era, making it the world’s leading exporter of raw silk, notably to Europe and the United States. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1449)
    • Address: 群馬県 (1-1 Tomioka, Gunma 370-2316, Japan)
    • Link: http://www.tomioka-silk.jp/tomioka-silk-mill/
19. Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining (明治日本の産業革命遺産の製鉄・製鋼、造船、石炭産業)
    • Description: The site encompasses a series of twenty three component parts, mainly located in the southwest of Japan. It bears testimony to the rapid industrialization of the country from the middle of the 19th century to the early 20th century, through the development of the iron and steel industry, shipbuilding and coal mining. The site illustrates the process by which feudal Japan sought technology transfer from Europe and America from the middle of the 19th century and how this technology was adapted to the country’s needs and social traditions. The site testifies to what is considered to be the first successful transfer of Western industrialization to a non-Western nation. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1484)
    • Address: 山口県・鹿児島県・静岡県・岩手県・佐賀県・長崎県・福岡県・熊本県 (None)
    • Link: None
20. The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement (ル・コルビュジエの建築作品‐近代建築運動への顕著な貢献‐)
    • Description: Chosen from the work of Le Corbusier, the 17 sites comprising this transnational serial property are spread over seven countries and are a testimonial to the invention of a new architectural language that made a break with the past. They were built over a period of a half-century, in the course of what Le Corbusier described as “patient research”. The Complexe du Capitole in Chandigarh (India), the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo (Japan), the House of Dr Curutchet in La Plata (Argentina) and the Unité d’habitation in Marseille (France) reflect the solutions that the Modern Movement sought to apply during the 20th century to the challenges of inventing new architectural techniques to respond to the needs of society. These masterpieces of creative genius also attest to the internationalization of architectural practice across the planet. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1321)
    • Address: 東京都 (None)
    • Link: None
21. Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region (「神宿る島」宗像・沖ノ島と関連遺産群)
    • Description: Located 60 km off the western coast of Kyushu island, the island of Okinoshima is an exceptional example of the tradition of worship of a sacred island. The archaeological sites that have been preserved on the island are virtually intact, and provide a chronological record of how the rituals performed there changed from the 4th to the 9th centuries AD. In these rituals, votive objects were deposited as offerings at different sites on the island. Many of them are of exquisite workmanship and had been brought from overseas, providing evidence of intense exchanges between the Japanese archipelago, the Korean Peninsula and the Asian continent. Integrated within the Grand Shrine of Munakata, the island of Okinoshima is considered sacred to this day. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1535)
    • Address: 福岡県 (Okinoshima, Munakata, Fukuoka 811-3701, Japan)
    • Link: http://www.okinoshima-heritage.jp/
22. Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region (長崎と天草地方の潜伏キリシタン関連遺産)
    • Description: Located in the north-western part of Kyushu island, this serial property consists of ten villages, remains of the Hara Castle and a cathedral, dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. They reflect the era of prohibition of the Christian faith, as well as the revitalization of Christian communities after the official lifting of prohibition in 1873. These sites bear unique testimony to a cultural tradition nurtured by hidden Christians in the Nagasaki region who secretly transmitted their faith during the period of prohibition from the 17th to the 19th century. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1495)
    • Address: 長崎県・熊本県 (1-1 Dejimamachi, Nagasaki, 850-0862, Japan)
    • Link: http://kyoukaigun.jp/
23. Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan (百舌鳥・古市古墳群‐古代日本の墳墓群‐)
    • Description: Located on a plateau above the Osaka Plain, this property includes 49 kofun (“old mounds” in Japanese). These tombs were for members of the elite. These kofun have been selected from among a total of 160,000 in Japan and form the richest material representation of the Kofun period, from the 3rd to the 6th century CE. They demonstrate the differences in social classes of that period and show evidence of a highly sophisticated funerary system. Burial mounds of significant variations in size, kofun take the geometrically elaborate design forms of keyhole, scallop, square or circle. They were decorated with paving stones and clay figures. The kofun demonstrate exceptional technical achievements of earthen constructions. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1593)
    • Address: 大阪府 (7 Daisencho, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0035, Japan)
    • Link: http://www.mozu-furuichi.jp/jp/
24. Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, Northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island (奄美大島、徳之島、沖縄島北部及び西表島)
    • Description: Encompassing 42,698 hectares of subtropical rainforests on four islands on a chain located in the southwest of Japan, the serial site forms an arc on the boundary of the East China Sea and Philippine Sea whose highest point, Mount Yuwandake on Amami-Oshima Island, rises 694 metres above sea level. Entirely uninhabited by humans, the site has high biodiversity value with a very high percentage of endemic species, many of them globally threatened. The site is home to endemic plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, inland water fish and decapod crustaceans, including, for example, the endangered Amami Rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi) and the endangered Ryukyu Long-haired Rat (Diplothrix legata) that represent ancient lineages and have no living relatives anywhere in the world. Five mammal species, three bird species, and three amphibian species in the property have been identified globally as Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species. There are also a number of different endemic species confined to each respective island that are not found elsewhere in the property. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1574)
    • Address: 沖縄県 (Tokunoshima, Oshima District, Kagoshima, Japan)
    • Link: None
25. Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan (北海道・北東北の縄文遺跡群)
    • Description: The property consists of 17 archaeological sites in the southern part of Hokkaido Island and northern Tohoku in geographical settings ranging from mountains and hills to plains and lowlands, from inland bays to lakes, and rivers. They bear a unique testimony to the development over some 10,000 years of the pre-agricultural yet sedentary Jomon culture and its complex spiritual belief system and rituals. It attests to the emergence, development, maturity and adaptability to environmental changes of a sedentary hunter-fisher-gatherer society which developed from about 13,000 BCE. Expressions of Jomon spirituality were given tangible form in objects such as lacquered pots, clay tablets with the impression of feet, the famous goggle eyed dogu figurines, as well as in ritual places including earthworks and large stone circles reaching diameters of more than 50 metres. The serial property testifies to the rare and very early development of pre-agricultural sedentism from emergence to maturity. (from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1632)
    • Address: 北海道 (Inamoto Kizukurikamegaoka, Tsugaru, Aomori 038-3284, Japan)
    • Link: http://jomon-japan.jp/jomon-sites/kamegaoka/