7 Japanese Icons You Need To Tick Off Your Bucket List

If you’re anything like us, you can’t help but think about all the travel time you’ve lost.

Japan in particular has always been a bit of a fascination for people around the world, with its ancient history and culture, rich in traditions and customs, full of samurais and warriors, geishas and finer arts. Not to mention literally the most delish cuisine you can imagine.

So let’s get the low-down on the magical land of sushi, skiing, samurai & sake 🇯🇵

Tokyo

The Icon: Shibuya Crossing

Heaps of cities have iconic landmarks: New York City's Statue of Liberty, Paris's Eiffel Tower, Beijing's Great Wall. Tokyo has some unique features like Tokyo Tower and the Skytree, but to me the most identifiable landmark to the city will always be Shibuya Crossing.

It is an unquestioned must-visit for any trip to Tokyo. 🏯

The sprawling scramble intersection just outside Shibuya Station is an embodiment of Tokyo: action in all directions. Three huge television screens mounted on the buildings facing the intersection flash all day, while the rest of the area is covered with lights, advertisements...and more lights.

Nara

The Icon: Nara Deer Park

Nara Park covers a broad area, and in fact a portion of it is made of by the grounds of Kasuga Taisha Shrine. The deity enshrined therein is Takemi Kajichi no Mikoto, said to have ridden to Nara upon a sacred deer from Kashima Shrine (also written with a character for "deer") in Ibaraki Prefecture. Because of this legend, deer were thought of as sacred animals--the helpers of gods--and have been carefully protected for many years. Even today, Nara's deer are carefully protected as "natural monuments.”

Kyoto

The Icon: Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Located about 7km west of downtown Kyoto, Arashiyama is one of Kyoto’s most popular sightseeing districts. The heart of the district is the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, a mesmerizing grove of thousands of tall bamboo plants. A paved walkway runs through the middle of both sections, forming the famous “Bamboo Alley,” one of Kyoto’s most snapped sights.

Miyajima

The Icon: Giant Torii Gate

Miyajima is a small island less than an hour outside the city of Hiroshima. It is most famous for its giant torii gate, which at high tide seems to float on the water. The sight is ranked as one of Japan's three best views. While officially named Itsukushima, the island is more commonly referred to as Miyajima, Japanese for ‘shrine island’. This is because the island is so closely related to its key shrine, Itsukushima Shrine, in the public's mind. Like the torii gate, the shrine's main buildings are built over water.

Nagano

The Icon: The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route (+ Snow Corridor)

The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is a unique and spectacular route through the Northern Japan Alps. Completed in 1971, the route connects Toyama City in Toyama Prefecture with Omachi Town in Nagano Prefecture.  The main attraction of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is the magnificent scenery of the Tateyama Mountain Range, part of the Chubu Sangaku National Park. n spring, accumulated snow, especially around the upper sections of Midagahara and Murodo, form a majestic snow corridor whose snow walls reach up to 20 meters high. A section of the snow corridor around Murodo is open to pedestrians usually from mid April to late June.

Kanazawa

The Icon: Cherry Blossoms at Kenroku-en Garden (or Kanazawa Castle)

Kanazawa, with its fantastic gardens and green spaces, is the perfect place for enjoying Japan’s famous cherry blossoms. The blossoms usually bloom in the last week of March and the first two weeks of April. When they bloom, almost all the trees come into full bloom at the same time and stay that way for a week or more. In some places the sakura blooming season offers the most magnificent views.

The most famous is Kenroku-en Garden, Kanazawa’s best attraction. There are about 420 cherry trees in the garden, and in the best scenario, you can find them all blooming at the same time.

Kanazawa Castle is also another perfect spot for viewing the cherry blossoms. There are about 400 cherry trees on the castle grounds and at the peak of the season you can expect all of them to be blooming.

Naoshima

The icon: Yayoi Kusama's spotted pumpkin

Naoshima is Japan’s island dedicated to contemporary art. Here you will find revered Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s spotted pumpkin. The sculpture, a giant black and yellow polka-dotted pumpkin by the celebrated artist Yayoi Kusama, has stood at the end of a pier on the “art island” of Naoshima in the Seto inland sea since 1994. 

Enjoy exploring beautiful Japan! ✨