Best places: Historical landmarks in Kawanishi, Japan

Huge, offbeat sculpture built for the 1970 World’s Fair & offering tours with advance booking.

Striking, multi-story tower rising above Osaka Castle complex, with gold-leaf detailing & a museum.

Early 20th-century villa designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, made from Oya stone & open for tours.

Connected skyscrapers with a rooftop garden observatory, plus a restaurant & lounge with city views.

👍👍 This is the pillar of the main gate of Osaka Castle. Do you know the answer to this column joint puzzle?

👍👍 Shinsaibashi is one of the most popular areas in Osaka, with countless stores from high-end retailers to the familiar high street shops. This neighborhood is more than just for shopping though, with some of the most exciting attractions, delicious foods, and fun bars and nightclubs. Be sure to make...

👍👍 The Sagano Bamboo Forest in Kyoto, Japan is known not just for its visual allure but also for its aural beauty. The forest's natural noise was deemed so lovely that Japan’s Ministry of the Environment voted it one of the official “100 Soundscapes of Japan"

👍 "Monuments of Memorial and Reconstruction" are to remember the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and convey the progress of reconstruction to future generations. It was established on January 16, 2000, for the purpose of memorializing the victims, encouraging citizens, and appealing the significance o...

The well-known architect Fujii Koji blended Japanese & modern Western styles in this home from 1928.

👍 This is part of the Osaka castle grounds, which are a lovely place to spend half a day strolling around and trying to imagine what life looked like once upon a time... It is a great place to visit with children. There are plenty of things to explore, places to rest and have food, small s...

👍 大阪市中央区にある「適塾（てきじゅく）」を見学してきました。 場所は淀屋橋駅と北浜駅のちょうど中間辺り、瓦葺きの純和風の家屋が近代的な都会の建物やビルの中に残されています。 入口を入ると土間と下駄箱があり、靴を脱いで畳敷きの部屋から向かって右へ入ると小さな受付窓口があります。 こちらで大人270円、高校・...

Medieval castle site in a traditional hilltop garden with reconstructed buildings & a viewing tower.

This brick, neo-Baroque mansion built in 1904 was designed by the German architect Georg de Lalande.

Thatched hermitage of 17th-century haiku master Mukai Kyorai, with poems displayed in ink & stone.

Historical, Western-style homes built by foreign merchants & diplomats dot this scenic hill.

👍 I visited the shrine around 11:00 on New Year's Day. Temporary parking is well prepared and there are no parking jams, making it extremely smooth. It's a reasonable distance from the approach to the main hall, about 5 minutes for adults to walk. There are about 10 food stalls. I had to wait in line...

Built in 1903 by a U.S. consul general, this 2-story mansion features Western architecture.

👍👍 本丸正面入口を守るため「枡形」と呼ばれる 区画が設さずけられ1624年大阪城再築工事の第２期工事で築かれた 石材は岡山県産の花崗岩、表面積59.43M2 重量は約108 t城内最大の巨石で蛸石と呼ばれている実際に見るととても感動しました。石の産地は当時、備前藩の領地だった岡山県犬島で直線距離にして、 約130Km、400年前に...

Visitors can explore the remains & reconstructed walls of this Edo-era castle built in 1617.