Itsukushima Shrine: Japan's most visited floating shrine and gate in Miyajima

 Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社) is a Shinto shrine on the island of Miyajima in Hiroshima prefecture, well known for its floating shrine gate (torii, 鳥居). This shrine has also been known as one of the three best views in Japan (Nihon-sankei, 日本三景).

Itsukushima Shrine was originally established in 593 and rebuilt by Taira no Kiyomori (平清盛), the power of the time, in 1168. The floating torii, the landmark of Itsukushima Shrine, was also built by Taira no Kiyomori. The reason why the shrine and its gate were built on the water is that people were not allowed to set foot on the sacred island and needed to approach by boat from the opposite shore.  

The best time to visit Miyajima is in mid-morning because you can see the shrine both at high and low tide. At high tide, you can enjoy the literally "floating" torii. At low tide, you can walk to the bottom of the torii.

Itsukushima Shrine is accessible less than 1 hour by train and ferry from Hiroshima city, which is famous for Atomic Bomb Dome. You can also reach Itsukushima Shrine from Iwakuni, well known for Kintai-kyō (錦帯橋), grateful five-arched wooden bridge.

Dōgo Onsen: One of the oldest and most famous hot springs in Japan

There are 27,000 hot springs (Onsen, 温泉) and 3,000 hot spring towns (Onsengai, 温泉街) in Japan. Dōgo Onsen (道後温泉) is one of the oldest and most famous hot springs in Japan.

Dōgo Onsen locates in Matsuyama, Ehime prefecture and has been known as a Japan's three oldest hot springs (Sankosen, 三古泉). Dōgo Onsen has a history of over 1,200 years, also mentioned in the oldest Japanese poetry collection (Manyōsyū, 万葉集). Dōgo Onsen Honkan, a symbol of Dōgo Onsen, is a traditional, beautiful Japanese-style building constructed in 1894. You can enjoy two types of hot springs in Dōgo Onsen Honkan, Tama-no-yu and Kami-no-yu.

Before going to Dōgo Onsen, I recommend you to visit Matsuyama castle in the center of the Matsuyama city. You can go to Matsuyama castle (松山城) which is one of the Japan's 12 original castles in 15 minutes by tram from Dōgo Onsen. Matsuyama castle locates on the top of Mt. Katsuyama, taking 30-minutes walk from the foot of the mountain. After having a bath in the hot spring, you can enjoy Ehime's mandarin orange juice and ice cream in the shopping street in Dōgo Onsen.

Mt. Ishizuchi: A sacred mountain which is the highest in western Japan

Every Japanese knows which mountain is the highest in Japan, but not so many people know the highest peak in western Japan. That is Mt. Ishizuchi (石鎚山) at 1,982m in Ehime prefecture.

With its name meaning "stone hummer", Mt Ishizuchi is one of the 7 Holy Mountains (nana reizan, 七霊山) represented by Mt. Fuji.  About 1,300 years ago, Mt. Ishizuchi was opened by "En no Gyōja (役の行者)", the founder of Shugendō (修験道) which is a sect of mixture of Shinto and Buddhism who also opened Mt. Fuji. At the top of the mountain there is Ishizuchi Shrine (石鎚神社) and even now white-dressed pilgrims head for there from all over the country. 

On the way to the summit of Mt. Ishizuchi, there are four difficult spots called "Kusariba", heavy steel chains hung almost vertically. The longest one is 68m. If you afraid to climb, you can use trails bypassing four chains.

Mt. Ishizuchi is accessible less than 2 hours by car from Dōgo Onsen in Matsuyama, one of the oldest and most famous hot springs in Japan. After climbing Mt. Ishizuchi, soaking in a hot spring is a good choice.

Mt. Fuji: An object of worship and a cultural icon for Japanese

Mt. Fuji is by far the most famous and important mountain for Japanese. 

Mt. Fuji (Fujisan, 富士山) which locates in Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures is the highest mountain (3,776m) in Japan. Its' perfectly symmetrical cone has been an object of worship and a cultural icon for centuries.

Mt. Fuji was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013: "Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration". Animism, the belief that all natural things have sprits, has been very common from ancient times to the present among Japanese people.  Of course, Mt. Fuji is no exception. There are about 1,300 Sengen shrines (浅間大社) worshiping Mt. Fuji around the country. The head shrine of these shrines, Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha, is located in Mt. Fuji.

Mt. Fuji has also been used as a cultural symbol in Japan. Mt Fuji was recited again and again in the oldest Japanese poetry collection (Manyōsyū, 万葉集) in 8th century. In the 1830s, Mt. Fuji was also described in woodblock prints (Ukiyo-e, 浮世絵) such as "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai and Hiroshige". In the 1860s, Ukiyo-e was introduced to European artist as a part of Japonism and Impressionist painters including Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet were influenced by the use of colors and composition in Ukiyo-e.

It takes about 2 hours from Tokyo to Mt. Fuji by train or direct bus. If you don't have enough time to visit, you can see Mt. Fuji from Tokyo on a sunny day. 

Himeji Castle: One of the first World Heritage Site and 12 original castles in Japan

Himeji Castle (姫路城) is the only one castle listed on World Heritage Site of 12 original castles in Japan.

There are about 100 castles which have a castle tower (Tensyu, 天守) in Japan now, but there are only dozen castles left which considered "original" ("original" means castles which have a castle tower built in Edo period or earlier). After the build of Azuchi castle (安土城) in 1579, about 3,000 castles which have a castle tower were built all over the country, but many of them were lost because of "Law of One Castle per province" in Edo period, "Law of Abandonment of Castles" in 1873 by Meiji government and World War Ⅱ.

Himeji castle dates to 1333 when a fort was built on the top of the hill. The castle was rebuilt as a three-story castle in 1581 and remodeled again as a today's five-story castle from 1601 to 1609. Himeji castle is also called as "Shirasagi Castle" which means "White Heron Castle" praising the beauty of white outer walls. Not only in the beauty of appearance, but also in the defensive systems, Himeji Castle stands above the rest. Himeji castle has a threefold spiral-shaped defense line by cleverly using surrounding nature including rivers and hills and artificial buildings including a lot of gates, towers, stone walls and moats.

Himeji Castle of beauty and strength is a special castle for Japanese because it is the first and the only one castle listed on World Heritage Site in Japan.