Korakuen garden

Korakuen is a beautiful landscape garden and Okayama's main attraction. Along with Kanazawa's
Kenrokuen and Mito's Kairakuen, Korakuen is well known as one of Japan's three best landscape gardens. It is situated just beside Okayama Castle, which can be seen from the garden as "borrowed scenery". 

The local feudal lord ordered the construction of Korakuen in 1687 as a place of entertainment for the ruling family and a location for receiving important guests. Occasionally, the public was permitted to enter the garden.  

 

Korakuen is a spacious garden that offers a large pond, streams, walking paths and a hill that serves as a lookout point. Rather unique for a Japanese garden, however, are Korakuen's spacious lawns. Also found in the garden are groves of plum, cherry and maple trees, tea and rice fields, an archery range and a crane aviary. 

Naritasan Shinshoji Temple

It is a large and highly popular Buddhist temple complex in Narita City, not far from Narita Airport. It is recommended site to visit if you have a few hours to spend around the airport and wish to experience historic Japan.

                       

The temple was completed in the year 940 around its main sacred object of worship, a statue of the Buddhist Fudo Myoo deity. Kobo Daishi, the founder of the Shingon Sect and one of the most important figures in Japan's religious history, is said to have carved the statue.

                        
 
One of the attractions is its store lined approach, the Omotesando. Stretching over the entire one kilometer distance from Narita railway stations to the temple, Omotesando is a lively street lined by numerous restaurants and shops, that have been selling traditional crafts, foods and souvenirs.

Kokura Castle

It is located in Kitakyushu, Kyushu region and it was built by Hosokawa Tadaoki in 1602. It was the property of the Ogasawara clan between 1632 and 1860. The castle was destroyed in 1866 in the war between the Kokura and Choshu clans.

  
Mori Ogai was based at the castle at the turn of the 19th-20th century when it was a military base. 

The keep was reconstructed in 1959, and the castle was fully restored in 1990. The Matsumoto Seicho museum and castle garden were opened in 1998.

Shiroyama Park

It is located in downtown Kagoshima that extends over Mount Shiroyama. With an altitude of 107 meters, the mountain formerly served as a castle site, which led to its name. Shiroyama literally means "castle mountain" in Japanese. The castle's former grounds at the base of the mountain now serve as the site of the Reimeikan Museum. 

 

The park is well-known for its Shiroyama Observatory with spectacular views over downtown Kagoshima, Kagoshima Bay and Sakurajima. 

The night view is also recommended, particularly if a clear sky and bright moon allow Sakurajima to remain visible.

Furthermore, the park will contain the interest of travelers interested in Japanese history, as it was the location of the final battle of the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877. The local hero, Saigo Takamori is said to have made his last stand at Saigo Cave, located within the park. 

Shuri Castle

It was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom in Okinawa. In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was almost completely destroyed.

Beginning in 1992, it was reconstructed on the original site based on photographs, historical records, and memory.

                       

Because of its central role in Ryukyuan political and religious life, the castle is surrounded by various sites of historical interest, including Shureimon, the main gate to the castle, and the Tamaudun Mauseoleum, the royal tombs located next to Shuri Castle.

Amanohashidate

It is a pine covered sandbar that spans the mouth of Miyazu Bay in the scenic, coastal region of northern Kyoto Prefecture. Viewed from the mountains at either end of the bay, the Amanohashidate Sandbar (which roughly translates to "bridge in heaven") looks like a pathway between heaven and earth. The scene has been admired for centuries and is ranked among Japan's three most scenic views.

Several other attractions can be explored on foot or by rental bicycle at either end of the sandbar. They contain a couple of temples, a shrine, a small amusement park and observation decks from which to enjoy the view.

 
Tourists can take sightseeing cruises around the bay or enjoy the sand beaches along the sandbar.

Ouchijuku

Ouchijuku is located in Fukushima prefecture, a former post town along the Aizu-Nishi Kaido trade route, which  connected Aizu with Nikko during the Edo Period. Restrictions set by the shogunate required travelers to make their long journeys on foot and as a result, post towns developed along the routes to provide travelers with food, accommodations and rest.

 
Today, Ouchijuku has been restored to look as it did in the Edo Period with telephone and electricity wires buried. The unpaved main street is lined by thick thatched roof buildings, which house a variety of shops, restaurants and minshuku (small traditional Japanese inns). Soba noodles and locally caught char fish roasted on sticks are popular specialties.

Ouchijuku is one of the must-see tourist spots in this area.