Japan Bird, Castles & palaces + Peaceful pictures

• Asia
• World

Enjoy a traditional tea ceremony, feed wild monkeys and explore World Heritage-listed temples and shrines in this historically rich Japanese city.

Seeing this garden in a picture may seem like a photo effect, but it isn’t a trick. Nature, with some human help, has created a unique place that must be seen.  

Visit this magnificently reconstructed castle to explore its towering main keep and learn about Japanese feudal history and Samurai culture at the museum within.

Watch as park staff feed about 130 wild snow monkeys on Arashiyama Mountain, or climb inside a cage and feed them yourself.

Forested footpaths and a scenic ropeway lead up to Miyajima’s tallest peak, where you can spot wildlife and examine intriguing rock formations and Buddhist relics.

Take a stroll or a bicycle ride through this sublime forest to experience the otherworldly tranquility created by filtered sunlight and rustling bamboo leaves.

A widow built this temple in 1606 to pay homage to her late warrior husband. Today, it survives as an eye-catching site of tranquility with postcard-pretty gardens.

Take a stroll or a bicycle ride through this sublime forest to experience the otherworldly tranquility created by filtered sunlight and rustling bamboo leaves.

Admire spectacular coastal scenery and magnificent rock formations at one of the most prominent religious sites on Okinawa. 

Watch steam rise from Hokkaido’s tallest peak, follow trails past pretty alpine vegetation, admire the scenery at mirrored lakes and ski on miles of backcountry terrain. 

Peer between the tendril-like vines that hang down from the forest canopy and explore ancient limestone caves in this mystical attraction in Nanjo.

Take a stroll or a bicycle ride through this sublime forest to experience the otherworldly tranquility created by filtered sunlight and rustling bamboo leaves.

Visit this magnificently reconstructed castle to explore its towering main keep and learn about Japanese feudal history and Samurai culture at the museum within.

Stroll around a section of this lake or sail across it on a pirate ship and, if you’re lucky, you might see a clear view of Mount Fuji rising up in the distance.

With picturesque blossom gardens and a golden hall considered a national treasure, this temple is a historic monument devoted to bliss and tranquility.

Peer between the tendril-like vines that hang down from the forest canopy and explore ancient limestone caves in this mystical attraction in Nanjo.

Take a tour of this lavishly decorated hilltop castle that was home to powerful Japanese kings for more than 400 years.

Watch steam rise from Hokkaido’s tallest peak, follow trails past pretty alpine vegetation, admire the scenery at mirrored lakes and ski on miles of backcountry terrain. 

Stroll around a section of this lake or sail across it on a pirate ship and, if you’re lucky, you might see a clear view of Mount Fuji rising up in the distance.

Take a stroll or a bicycle ride through this sublime forest to experience the otherworldly tranquility created by filtered sunlight and rustling bamboo leaves.

Visit the world of a wealthy and powerful shogun in this opulent 17th-century castle complex.