Best Architecture Spot List

Stroll along the heart-shaped pond in the garden

Known by locals as “Kurodani-san”

It is a large-scale conference and exhibition facility in Chiba Prefecture. The facility is bustling with big events in culture, arts, and sports.

This Buddhist school was established by the Chinese monk Jianzhen

Ohyama Afuri Shrine is located on the top of Mt. Oyama. This historical shrine has been worshiped by common people as well as many military commanders in the past.

Classical Zen Buddhist temple with gardens designed by Muso Kokushi. Enjoy the maple trees and seasonal flowers.

A mysterious building with a unique structure that has two separate stairways

A chalk lighthouse standing on a cliff

Famous since the Edo period (1603–1868) for its god of business prosperity. Site of the largest Tori no Ichi open-air market in Japan.

The building and garden represent the modern Japanese architecture in a semi-Western style.

Tadao Ando designed this temple's main hall

The interior, including the stained glass, is kept in the original state. Even today, this historical building is still in use as an academic building of Seisen University.

The homeland of a goddess at Ise Grand Shrine, located in the old Tango Province

Where the emperors and nobles enjoyed themselves

A temple built upon the request of Emperor Tenmu during the Hakuho Period. Reconstructed in recent years, the temple structures showcase beautiful, vibrant colors.

Famous for its strange festival, the Kurama Fire Festival

This green western-style home shines with pleasant sensibility

A temple of the Nichiren sect on Mt. Ogura in Sagano. It is well-known for ”Hyakunin Isshu” (a collection of 100 poems by 100 different poets). In autumn, the nearby mountains awash with brilliant red leaves.

A Zen temple of the Rinzai School built in the scenic area of Arashimaya in Kyoto. It was built by Takauji Ashikaga in memory of the recently deceased Emperor Go-Daigo.

This temple is the daihonzan (head temple) of the Kencho-ji Temple school of the Rinzai sect and ranks first among the Kamakura Gozan (Kamakura's Five Great Zen Temples). It has a number of national treasures, cultural assets, and historical structures. The Sanmon (three gates) are a must-see.