Japan's World Heritage Sites, in English

Japan is home to 27 UNESCO World Heritage sites — 22 cultural and 5 natural — from the cedar forests of Yakushima to the castles of Himeji and the ancient capitals of Nara and Asuka. This guide covers every site and all 241 of their component parts, with photos, locations and the official UNESCO data.

Newest inscriptions

• Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara 飛鳥・藤原の宮都
  2026 · Cultural · Nara · 2 components
• Sado Island Gold Mines 佐渡島の金山
  2024 · Cultural · Niigata · 3 components
• 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
  2021 · Natural · Kagoshima, Okinawa · 4 components

Browse by region

Hokkaido (2 sites)

• Shiretoko 知床
  2005 · Natural · Hokkaido
• Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan 北海道・北東北の縄文遺跡群
  2021 · Cultural · Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Akita · 17 components

Tohoku (4 sites)

• Shirakami-Sanchi 白神山地
  1993 · Natural · Aomori, Akita
• Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land 平泉
  2011 · Cultural · Iwate · 5 components
• 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 製鉄・鉄鋼、造船、石炭産業
  2015 · Cultural · Yamaguchi, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, Saga, Kumamoto, Fukuoka, Iwate, Shizuoka · 23 components
• Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan 北海道・北東北の縄文遺跡群
  2021 · Cultural · Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Akita · 17 components

Kanto (4 sites)

• Shrines and Temples of Nikko 日光の社寺
  1999 · Cultural · Tochigi · 3 components
• Ogasawara Islands 小笠原諸島
  2011 · Natural · Tokyo · 21 components
• Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites 富岡製糸場と絹産業遺産群
  2014 · Cultural · Gunma · 4 components
• The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier (National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo) 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－
  2016 · Cultural · Tokyo · 1 components

Chubu (4 sites)

• Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama 白川郷・五箇山の合掌造り集落
  1995 · Cultural · Gifu, Toyama · 4 components
• Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration 富士山-信仰の対象と芸術の源泉
  2013 · Cultural · Shizuoka, Yamanashi · 25 components
• 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 製鉄・鉄鋼、造船、石炭産業
  2015 · Cultural · Yamaguchi, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, Saga, Kumamoto, Fukuoka, Iwate, Shizuoka · 23 components
• Sado Island Gold Mines 佐渡島の金山
  2024 · Cultural · Niigata · 3 components

Kansai (7 sites)

• Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area 中宮寺
  1993 · Cultural · Nara · 1 components
• Himeji-jo 姫路城
  1993 · Cultural · Hyogo
• Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) 古都京都の文化財
  1994 · Cultural · Kyoto, Shiga · 17 components
• Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara 古都奈良の文化財
  1998 · Cultural · Nara · 7 components
• Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range 紀伊山地の霊場と参詣道
  2004 · Cultural · Wakayama, Nara, Mie · 22 components
• Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan 百舌鳥・古市古墳群
  2019 · Cultural · Osaka · 45 components
• Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara 飛鳥・藤原の宮都
  2026 · Cultural · Nara · 2 components

Chugoku (4 sites)

• Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) 原爆ドーム
  1996 · Cultural · Hiroshima
• Itsukushima Shinto Shrine 厳島神社
  1996 · Cultural · Hiroshima
• Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape 石見銀山
  2007 · Cultural · Shimane · 8 components
• 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 製鉄・鉄鋼、造船、石炭産業
  2015 · Cultural · Yamaguchi, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, Saga, Kumamoto, Fukuoka, Iwate, Shizuoka · 23 components

Shikoku

Shikoku does not have an inscribed World Heritage site yet — one of its candidates may join the tentative list story in the future.

Kyushu & Okinawa (6 sites)

• Yakushima 屋久島
  1993 · Natural · Kagoshima
• Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu 琉球王国のグスク及び関連遺産群
  2000 · Cultural · Okinawa · 9 components
• 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 製鉄・鉄鋼、造船、石炭産業
  2015 · Cultural · Yamaguchi, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, Saga, Kumamoto, Fukuoka, Iwate, Shizuoka · 23 components
• 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
  2017 · Cultural · Fukuoka · 8 components
• 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
  2018 · Cultural · Nagasaki, Kumamoto · 12 components
• 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
  2021 · Natural · Kagoshima, Okinawa · 4 components

Not yet inscribed: the tentative list

Japan keeps three properties on UNESCO's tentative list — Ancient Kamakura, Hikone Castle and an extension to Hiraizumi. See the tentative list page.

About this guide

Entries are built from the official UNESCO World Heritage listings and open data (Wikidata, CC0), with photographs from Wikimedia Commons whose licences have been checked one by one. Opening hours, admission fees and transport details change often, so each page links to the official UNESCO listing and Wikipedia for planning your visit.

Looking for more of Japan? See the GIZUMO Network page for our other English guides.