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Japan Travel Guides

133 spotsJapan Aquarium MapFrom Okinawa's coral tanks to Hokkaido's winter penguins, Japan's aquariums are worth a detour on almost any route. Ranked, and each one placed on the map.
169 spotsJapan Zoo MapCapybaras in an open-air hot spring, hundreds of foxes loose in the snow, lions a car window away. Japan's zoos are far stranger than the word suggests. Ranked, and each one placed on the map.
36 spotsJapan's UNESCO World Heritage SitesFrom Shiretoko in Hokkaido to the Nansei Islands, Japan's twenty-seven World Heritage properties span the length of the archipelago. The cultural ones preserve the craft behind its temples, castles and ancient capitals; the natural ones protect old-growth forest, island ecosystems and landforms far older than anything built on them. Culture and nature side by side is what World Heritage looks like in Japan.
12 spotsJapan's 12 Original Castle KeepsOnly twelve castle keeps in Japan survive from before the Meiji era. Every other tenshu you will see is a reconstruction.
19 spotsJapan's Classic ThreesThree views, three gardens, three night views, three waterfalls, three hot springs, three castles. The bay at Matsushima, the snow ropes at Kenroku-en, the lights from Mount Hakodate, the baths at Arima — if you are drawing up a Japan bucket list, this is where the ideas come from.
19 spotsJapan's RecordsThe northernmost point, the deepest lake, the tallest tower, the oldest inn still taking guests. Every Japanese record here is a place you can actually go and visit.

Asahiyama Zoo: 欅 (Keyaki), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons · Horyu-ji Temple: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons · Cape Soya: Suicasmo, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons