6 spots โ sorted by traveller rating
The Konjikido (Golden Hall) at Chusonji is one of Japan's most breathtaking survivals โ a 12th-century chamber entirely sheathed in gold leaf, sheltering the mummified remains of four Fujiwara lords. Built in 1124, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the centrepiece of Hiraizumi's ancient Buddhist culture.
Motsuji's 12th-century Pure Land garden is Japan's finest surviving example of Heian-period garden design โ a vast central pond ringed by white-sand beaches, sculpted stone, and seasonal plantings recreating paradise on earth. The temple itself was once more magnificent than Kyoto's Byodoin.
One of Japan's three great limestone caves โ Ryusendo's underground lakes glow an impossibly vivid cobalt blue in the torchlight, with water clarity measured at 41.5 metres (among the world's clearest). The illuminated 700-metre walking route passes stalactites, underground rivers, and chambers of silent crystal pools.
Named 'Pure Land Beach' by an 18th-century priest who found it too beautiful for this world โ Jodogahama's jagged white rhyolite columns rise from translucent blue water in the Rikuchu Kaigan National Park. Glass-bottomed boat tours reveal the underwater world; swimming is possible in the sheltered cove.
Tono is Japan's capital of folklore โ the 1910 collection 'Tono Monogatari' recorded the valley's legends of kappa (river sprites), zashiki-warashi (child spirits), and other supernatural beings. Today, old thatched farmhouses (magariya), water mills, and kappa-inhabited streams create an atmosphere unlike anywhere else in Japan.
Morioka's castle was one of Tohoku's great fortresses โ though only the stone walls remain, they are spectacular, rising over the Shizukuishi River with Iwate-san volcano framed behind. The surrounding Iwate Park is Morioka's finest cherry blossom spot, with over 300 trees.
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