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The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is an agency of the United Nations. UNESCO aims to promote the preservation and growth of the world's intellectual and cultural property.
One of UNESCO's most well known activities is the designation of World Heritage Sites. To qualify as a World Heritage Site, candidate sites must show outstanding value of either a cultural or natural nature. A temple or a forest can be a World Heritage Site, so long as it is demonstrated to have "outstanding universal value".
Below is a list of Japan's UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
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Horyuji Temple more information
Added in 1993
Horyuji's central gate, main hall and pagoda are the world's oldest surviving wooden structures.
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Himeji Castle more information
Added in 1993
Himeji Castle is the most beautiful and complete surviving example of a Japanese feudal castle.
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Yakushima more information
Added in 1993
Yakushima is an island in Kagoshima Prefecture, south off Kyushu, famous for its flora, especially its ancient Japanese cedar trees.
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Shirakami Sanchi
Added in 1993
Shirakami Sanchi is a mountain range spanning Aomori and Akita Prefectures, where the last remaining virgin forest of Siebold's beech trees is located.
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Monuments of Ancient Kyoto more information
Added in 1994
Over a dozen shrines, temples and castles in Kyoto and the neighboring cities of Uji and Otsu, including Toji, Kiyomizudera, Enryakuji, Daigoji, Byodoin, Tenryuji, Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji, Ryoanji and Nijojo.
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Shirakawa-go and Gokayama more information
Added in 1995
Shirakawa-go and Gokayama are remote regions in the mountains of Gifu and Toyama Prefectures, famous for their solid houses built in the gasshozukuri architecture style.
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Hiroshima Genbaku Dome more information
Added in 1996
The A-Bomb Dome is the only remaining structure in central Hiroshima, which predates the atomic blast of 1945.
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Itsukushima Shrine more information
Added in 1996
Itsukushima Shrine is one of the most beautiful shrines in Japan, scenically located on the sacred island of Miyajima. It is particularly famous for its "floating" torii gate.
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Monuments of Ancient Nara more information
Added in 1998
Over half a dozen shrines, temples and other sites in Nara, including Todaiji, Kofukuji, Kasuga Taisha and Yakushiji
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Shrines and Temples of Nikko more information
Added in 1999
Nikko has been a center of Shinto and Buddhist worship for many centuries. Today, it is most famous for its lavishly decorated Toshogu Shrine, the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
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Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu
Added in 2000
Several castle ruins and other site in Okinawa Prefecture, dating back to the era of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
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Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range
Added in 2004
Sacred sites (Yoshino, Omine, Kumano and Koyasan) connected by pilgrimage routes in a densly forested, mountainous region.
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Shiretoko more information
Added in 2005
Shiretoko Peninsula in eastern Hokkaido, is one of Japan's most beautiful and unspoiled national parks.
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Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape more information
Added in 2007
Former silver mine in the mountains of Shimane Prefecture, whose output accounted for one third of the world's silver production in the 17th century.
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