Park of China
Cultural 22Natural 5
Japan has 27 World Heritage Sites (22 cultural, 5 natural), the 11th most in the world (tied with United States). Hover over or tap a dot to see its name; click a name in the list to show it on the map. Listed by year of inscription.
- Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area The Horyu-ji area in Nara Prefecture, Japan, has about 48 Buddhist monuments, several dating from the late 7th or early 8th century, among the oldest surviving wooden buildings in the world. They illustrate how Chinese-influenced Buddhist architecture was adapted in Japan, and had a lasting influence on Japanese Buddhist art.
- Himeji-jo Himeji-jo in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, is the finest surviving example of early 17th-century Japanese castle architecture, with 83 buildings and a highly developed defensive system. It is a masterpiece of wooden construction that combines function with aesthetic appeal.
- Yakushima Yakushima is an island off southern Kyushu, Japan, at the meeting point of the Palaearctic and Oriental biotic regions. It has about 1,900 plant species and subspecies, including ancient Japanese cedars known as yakusugi, and a remnant of warm-temperate ancient forest unique in the region.
- Shirakami-Sanchi Shirakami-Sanchi is a trackless mountain area in northern Honshu, Japan, containing the last virgin remains of the cool-temperate Siebold's beech forest that once covered northern Japan. The forest is home to black bears, serow and 87 species of birds.
- Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) The Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto are spread across Kyoto, Uji and Otsu. Kyoto was founded in 794 on the model of the ancient Chinese capitals and remained the imperial capital until the mid-19th century, and its temples, shrines and gardens show the development of Japanese wooden architecture and garden design.
- Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama Shirakawa-go and Gokayama are villages in the mountains of central Honshu, Japan, which were long isolated from the outside world. Their gassho-style houses with steep thatched roofs, built by communities that lived from mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing, have no equivalent elsewhere in Japan.
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) was the only structure left standing near the hypocentre of the atomic bomb exploded on 6 August 1945, and has been preserved in its post-bombing state. It is a testimony to the first use of a nuclear weapon and a symbol of hopes for peace.
- Itsukushima Shinto Shrine Itsukushima Shinto Shrine is on Itsukushima island in Japan's Seto Inland Sea, a holy place of Shinto since early times. The present shrine dates from the 12th century, and its buildings are arranged along the shore with the great torii gate standing in the water, harmonising architecture with the natural setting.
- Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784, a period when the framework of national government was consolidated and Japanese culture flourished. Its Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and the excavated remains of the Imperial Palace illustrate the political, religious and cultural life of the time.
- Shrines and Temples of Nikko The shrines and temples of Nikko, in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, together with their natural surroundings, have been a sacred site for centuries. They are known for their architectural and decorative artistry, and are closely associated with the history of the Tokugawa shoguns.
- Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu This group of sites in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, represents the Ryukyu Kingdom between the 12th and 17th centuries, including castle ruins (gusuku), a royal palace and sacred places. The castles show the social structure of the period, and the sacred sites preserve a rare ancient form of religion.
- Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range In the forested Kii Mountains of western Honshu, three sacred sites, Yoshino and Omine, Kumano Sanzan and Koyasan, are linked by pilgrimage routes to the ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto. They reflect the fusion of Shinto, rooted in nature worship, with Buddhism, and a mountain-worship tradition lasting over a thousand years.
- Shiretoko The Shiretoko Peninsula is in north-eastern Hokkaido, Japan, and the site covers the land from the middle of the peninsula to its tip together with the surrounding sea. It is an outstanding example of interaction between marine and terrestrial ecosystems, where drift ice sustains a productive food chain and important habitat for seabirds, salmon and marine mammals.
- Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, in Shimane Prefecture in south-western Honshu, is a cluster of mountains rising to 600 m with remains of large-scale mining, smelting and refining sites and mining settlements worked between the 16th and 20th centuries. It also includes transport routes and ports, and shows how silver production shaped trade in East Asia while remaining in balance with its forested surroundings.
- Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land Hiraizumi, in Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan, was the administrative centre of the northern realm in the 11th and 12th centuries. The property comprises five sites, including temples and gardens such as Chuson-ji and Motsu-ji and the sacred Mount Kinkeisan, and expresses the Buddhist Pure Land ideal in architecture and garden design.
- Ogasawara Islands The Ogasawara Islands are more than 30 islands in three groups in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo, never connected to a continent. They have a wealth of endemic species, notably land snails and plants, and are important for the study of evolution on oceanic islands.
- Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration Mount Fuji is a solitary volcano in central Honshu, often snow-capped, which has long been a destination for pilgrimage and a source of inspiration for artists and poets. The property comprises 25 sites around the mountain that reflect its religious and artistic significance.
- Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites The Tomioka Silk Mill is a sericulture and silk-reeling complex in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, established in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its four sites correspond to different stages of raw silk production and show how Japan combined imported Western technology with local expertise to become a major silk exporter.
- Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining This property of 23 component parts, mostly in south-western Japan, including Kyushu and Yamaguchi, covers iron and steel, shipbuilding and coal mining sites. It bears testimony to Japan's rapid industrialisation from the mid-19th to the early 20th century.
- The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement This transnational serial property comprises 17 works by Le Corbusier in seven countries: Argentina, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Japan and Switzerland. They reflect the new architectural ideas of the 20th-century Modern Movement and its spread across the world.
- Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region Okinoshima lies about 60 km off the western coast of Kyushu and, with associated shrines in the Munakata region, forms an exceptional example of the worship of a sacred island. Its almost intact archaeological sites record how rituals changed between the 4th and 9th centuries, and reflect exchanges between ancient Japan and the Asian continent.
- Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region Located in north-western Kyushu, this serial property consists of ten villages, the remains of Hara Castle and a cathedral, dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. It reflects the period when Christianity was prohibited, during which believers practised in secret, and the revival of the Christian communities after the ban was lifted.
- Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan The Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group stands on a plateau above the Osaka Plain and comprises 49 mounded tombs, including very large keyhole-shaped ones. Built for the elite between the 3rd and 6th centuries, they illustrate the social hierarchy and civil engineering of the Kofun period.
- Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, Northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island This serial site covers about 42,698 ha of subtropical forest on four islands of the Ryukyu chain in south-western Japan: Amami-Oshima, Tokunoshima, northern Okinawa and Iriomote. Long isolation has produced many endemic and threatened species, such as the Amami rabbit and the Okinawa rail, giving the forests high conservation value.
- Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan The property consists of 17 archaeological sites in southern Hokkaido and northern Tohoku in Japan. They testify to a sedentary, pre-agricultural way of life and its spiritual culture that developed over some 10,000 years in the Jomon period.
- Sado Island Gold Mines The Sado Island Gold Mines are on Sado Island, about 35 km west of the Niigata coast in Japan, and consist of three component parts that illustrate different unmechanised gold-mining methods. They show the techniques of mining and refining gold in the Edo period, along with the associated mining settlements.
- Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara Asuka and Fujiwara, in the south of the Nara Basin, were two ancient capitals that marked the establishment of a centralised state modelled on the Chinese ritsuryo legal system. The 19 component parts include palaces, government offices, Buddhist temples and tombs.