Photo by Christina from DukeStewartWrites.com
I’ve spent quite a bit of time visiting Japan over the past year (and a half), but understand that there is so very much more to see. I’ve reached out to some of my awesome blogger pals to help me compile a list of amazing places to visit in Japan. Thank you to everyone for contributing to my first collaborative post – hopefully this will be the first of many ^^
Ginkakuji, Kyoto (The Silver Pavilion) via Duke Stewart
Ginkakuji is a history nerd and art aficionado haven but put simply, the Silver Pavilion is beautiful and not to miss when visiting Kyoto. Its winding paths lead to picturesque views along the way and at times, a feeling that you’re the only one there. Even though there’s no silver on the building, get there early and beat the crowds because they come throughout the year to witness this wonderful piece of Kyoto’s cultural history. From the Ginkakuji, you can also get started on Kyoto’s famed Philosopher’s Walk.
Read more about Duke Stewart’s time at Ginkakuji here!
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Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto (The Golden Pavilion) via The Neverending Wanderlust
It has been a little over a year since I visited Kyoto, but I recall it as one of the best long-weekends I’ve ever had. Kyoto is absolutely stunning and Kinkaku-ji (The Golden Pavilion) is an absolute must-see when you visit.  On our last day in the city, we arrived at the pavilion around 9:20 and were thankful that we got there early-it was already quite busy! It was one of the most memorable sights I’ve ever seen – simply stunning… Though it didn’t take us long to walk the grounds, it’s easy to see why it is at the top of all must-do lists in Kyoto.
Kinkakuji (金閣寺, Golden Pavilion)
Read more about my visit here!
Shitenno-ji temple, Osaka via The Toronto Seoulcialite
Shitenno-ji temple is one of those places you might overlook if you’re just spending the day in Osaka.  I live in Korea and have seen my fair share of temples here, in China, and in Thailand. This Japanese Temple was one of the most serene I’ve had the good luck to visit.  To walk around the immaculately groomed temple grounds is free, but to get into the buildings is approximately $3. I found the interpretations of the Buddha to be unlike anything I’ve seen thus far. I wish I had had a chance to take photos, but none are allowed inside the places of worship.  The subway system in Osaka is awesome, but because there are so many lines it can take an eternity to get around. Taxis aren’t cheap either, but if you’re looking for something a little different once you’ve conquered Osaka Castle, I would recommend Shitenno-ji (temple). Take the subway to JR Tennoji station, then hop into a cab to get to your destination.
Read more about The Toronto Seoulcialite’s time at the Shitenno-ji temple here!
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Yuigahama Beach, Kamakura via Duke Stewart
Not far from Kamakura’s wonderful Daibutsu, Yuigahama Beach is a picturesque and wide patch of sand sitting on the mouth of Sagami Bay. Its windy conditions are perfect for surfers and kite enthusiasts and the relative peace compared to the nearby cities of Yokohama and Tokyo are what make this place special for me. There’s also the tidbit that the founder of Nichiren Buddhism was nearly executed on this beach. Before his escape, the beach was better-known as a sacred ground for Minamoto shoguns who would seek the waters for cleansing before visiting faraway shrines.
Read more about Duke Stewart’s time at Yuigahama Beach here!
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Fukuoka via Seanoverseas
During my two days in Fukuoka, Japan there were many sites that I fell in love with, but one that stands out is Kushida Shrine. Tourists and locals of all ages flock to this gem, whether it’s for religious purposes, a cultural experience, or just a great photo op. You can pet the copper cow for good luck, buy blessings for 50 Yen, write your wishes on a wooden tablet, ring a bell, or simply bow in prayer. I recommend this place for its beauty, from the giant lantern at the entrance to the colorful saki barrels to the Red Torii Gates. If nothing else in this modern city makes you feel like you’ve entered another world or traveled back in time, I’m sure this place will.
Read more from Seanoverseas here!
Mt. Aso and Beppu Hot Springs via Alla Ponomareva
Take a weekend trip getaway from Fukuoka to visit the city of Beppu, in the Oita Prefecture. The Onsen there are divided into eight hot spring areas and are known as the Hells of Beppu. Some of the more photogenic hells include the blood pond hell (Chinoike Jigoku) and sea hell (Umi Jigoku), featured here. While the eight hells of Beppu are for viewing pleasure only (thankfully, with their boiling mud, milky or crocodile-infested waters), the city is full of public bath houses for locals and tourists alike.
Visit the largest active volcanoes in Japan and one of the largest in the world – Mt. Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture. Located in Aso Kuju National Park, this volcano will impress you with it’s large caldera and an incredibly strong smell. Bring a mask or a scarf and definitely a camera!
Read from Alla Ponomareva here!
Sushi at Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market via Travel Stained
At Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market, a sushi breakfast at one of the restaurants in the wholesale area is a rite of passage for early morning visitors. And the most coveted seats of all are at humble little Sushi-Dai.
With just 12 counter places available, we waited 3 torturous hours for our chance to brave the omakase or “trust the chef” course. But as piece after piece of the freshest fatty tuna, surf clam, salmon and mackerel was placed directly on the counter in front of us, we quickly forgot the long delay. The sushi was so exquisite (and affordable), that it scarcely touched the counter in front of us, before it was swept up and devoured. Worth it? Absolutely.
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Himeji Castle, Hyogo Prefecture via Chasing KM
Perched majestically on top of a hill, it becomes visible soon after exiting the train station. Himeji Castle is also known as the White Heron as it resembles a big white bird ready to take flight. It is one of the oldest surviving castles from the 1700’s. The original east and west wooden supporting pillars still run all the way from the ground floor to the top of the keep!! The stairs and floors are polished by thousands of feet. It’s a pricey attraction compared to others in Japan, but our advice: pay the money; it’s worth it!
Read more about Chasing KM’s time at Himeji Castle here!
Miyajima Island via The Soul Seeker
Since moving to Japan last year, I have visited plenty of the usual cities, but none can compare to the Island of Miyajima. Only a half hour drive from Iwakuni, I can’t believe I waited nine months after we moved here to visit this beautiful place!
This island is my favorite place in Japan, as it has a way of transporting you to the past. Vehicles are limited and only a few are allowed to bring their own transportation. The buildings are all traditional Japanese architecture and the temples are gorgeous! Definitely, a must for someone who wants to skip the big cities of Japan and experience the yesteryear of this country.
Tokyo Disney Sea via Bobo and Chichi
A visit to Tokyo means you can get to see one of the most unique Disney parks in the world! Tokyo DisneySea is famous for it’s different rides not available in the other parks including a dark and mysterious ride called Journey to the Center of the Earth. Even old favorites like Tower of Terror and Indiana Jones are different in Tokyo. We loved themed areas for The Little Mermaid and Aladdin the best. Both of these movies are some of my childhood favorites and it was an incredible experience to feel like I was under the sea with Ariel or in Agrabah with Aladdin!
Read more about Bobo and Chichi’s time at Disney Sea here!
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Thanks again to everyone who has participated! Please check out their work and show them some love ^^
This is an interesting…different people see different things and putting them all together makes you appreciate the big picture.
Kyoto looks absolutely beautiful. I’ve read other posts about people going there, and my drive to be there keeps improving. The bridge to Miyajima Island looks amazing. It’s great seeing everyone’s favourite places, this post is turning into my bucket list for Japan!
Thanks so much for reading and commenting ^^ Kyoto is my favorite place so far, but there is so much more to see!
Oh man, we missed some of these places during our trip! It makes me want to go back even more! I really want to check out the Beppo Hot Springs!! Thanks for including us on your collab! It turned out great!
I wanna go back too – I feel like I barely scratched the surface ^^ Thanks so very much for your contribution and comment!
Awesome post!! Love how all the bloggers got together to write up the best places in Japan. This article and pictures make me want to go now!! We will definitely be using this tips for when we finally go! Thanks for collaborating and sharing!
Thank you very much for reading! It was a lot of fun to work with the other bloggers and hear about some places I haven’t been yet. Hope you can make it someday 🙂
I’m obsessed with the lay out and organization of this post! It made for such an enjoyable read. As usual, I wish I had an infinite amount of time on each continent so I could visit all of these gems, or really just visit Japan at all! If I had to pick, I think I would choose visiting Miyajima Island aa a top priority.
Oh thank you so much! I always fret about the layout – especially since I’m new(er) to using WP and am not a graphic designer! I find that I never quite have enough time anywhere and have to remind myself to see other places on my list and not keep going back to the same countries haha! Maybe someday I’ll get back to Japan, but I’ve been fortunate enough to see quite a bit!
Great colab post. Funny that I’ve read some of these places from the contributor/bloggers themselves. But it’s nice to see them all here together. And yes, your lay-out of the photos is clean and clear. This makes me conscious of my own blog because I don’t make any effort to make the photos and lay-out appealing. I’ve gotten my inspiration from you (but I expect more time-consuming blogging moment?).
Thanks for the feedback about the layout – I’ll keep that in mind for future posts. It wasn’t too much more time consuming, once I figured out how I wanted it to look (and with my limited knowledge). Shouldn’t be too difficult to replicate in the future! Thanks for reading 🙂
Awesome pictures! This post made me feel that one week isn’t enough to explore the beautiful places in Japan. I’ll bookmark this for future use. Thanks for this compilation. <3
Thanks for reading! There is so much to see and do in Japan, I’m not sure I’d ever tire of visiting 🙂
Yey! I’ll be visiting Japan for the third time in the spring but I don’t have an itinerary yet. We are going to Tokyo but we are also thinking of visiting Osaka and Kyoto since we haven’t been there. Or perhaps Miyajima Island ~ since we love old historical places. BTW, “The Soul Seeker” website isn’t showing. It just shows “Bluehost”
Thanks for the info – I know Bluehost has had an outage, but I’ll check in to it! Sorry for the slow response, this got spammed for some reason!! I HIGHLY recommend Osaka/Kyoto if you can 🙂 I enjoyed Tokyo, but my heart is in Osaka 🙂
What a comprehensive list of recommendations for Japan! Thanks for putting this together. I love that you collaborated with fellow bloggers to make it happen. It’s so much fun to creatively work with others, isn’t it?! I’ve yet to check out Japan but I plan to do so next year and I’ll definitely reference this useful post. I must say the bit about the sushi at the fish market is gold info. Definitely going to eat the sushi there regardless of the wait ?
Thank you for reading! There are so many more places I wanna visit now ^^ Enjoy all the yummy food!
Ohhh man, those hot springs look amazing!!! I had to spend a week in Fukuoka last year on a visa run and I ended up really running out of things to do- wish I had known that was so close by. Thanks for sharing! Japan is one of my favourite places ever as well. If you ever get a chance, you should go to Tsushima Island. It’s really beautiful and not far at all from Busan!
Thanks for the tip!! I’ll definitely put it on my list for a future trip 🙂 Thanks for reading x
We’ve lived in Korea for a year and a half and still haven’t made it to Japan. Someday soon, though. We definitely want to visit some Torii gates!
Can’t wait for you to go and to see your photos afterwards (little selfish I know) 🙂
The Golden Pavilion and Himeji Castle are on my to see list after this post. Thanks for including two tips from me. I hope that people can be inspired by others and perhaps even revisit the same places to capture them in new ways.
Thanks so much for your contribution – I have more places to see now 🙂 I also love to see places I’ve visited through other people’s eyes/lenses. Cheers!
Japan is one of our favorite destinations! It is so hard to choose our favorite place in Japan we’ve been to, but this list is certainly giving me the itch to go back. We still need to check out Tokyo and that fish market looks awesome!
Right!?! I kinda think I need to plan another trip myself 🙂 Thanks for reading!
These are beautiful! My two favorite are the ones by Duke Stewart, the hot springs and the beach. Maybe it’s because winter here in Beijing is just that horrible. Pollution! Ugh! Those photos are my temporary escape. Wonderful post! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks for reading! The hot springs and that beach look amazing right about now 🙂
I LOVE Japan and have just not been there enough.. clearly. I NEED to get to that island that is for sure. Fukuoka, Kyoto, Osaka and a few other cities off of the list but it seems every time I go, it’s just never enough. Love it.
Thanks for reading – I can never seem to get enough either!! 🙂