After the Three Views were composed in the 17th century, many authors have come up with their own lists of Japanese sites and attractions. While there are countless lists and variations thereof, here is a selection of the best-known ones:

Three Views

三景 Sankei in Japanese. The most famous list of them all, attributed to scholar Hayashi Razan back in 1643.

New Three Views


Three Famous Castles

三名城 Sanmeijō

In addition to the above, the following castles are also considered National Treasures (国宝 kokuhō):


Three Famous Gardens

三名園 Sanmeien


Three Famous Mountains

三名山 Sanmeizan, also 三霊山 Sanreizan


Three Famous Big Buddhas

三大大仏 Sandai-daibutsu


Three Great Festivals

三大祭 Sandaisai

  • Gion Matsuri, Kyoto
  • Tenjin Matsuri, Osaka
  • Kanda and Sannō Matsuri, Tokyo

The Neputa/Nebuta Matsuri of Aomori and Hirosaki is also a top contender.


Three Hot Springs

Certainly one of the more hotly contested categories.

Three Great Hot Springs

三大温泉 Sandaionsen

Three Famous Springs

三名泉 Sanmeisen. This list, too, was authored by Hayashi Razan.

Three Old Springs

三古湯 Sankosen

Three Baths of Fuso

扶桑三名湯 Fuso-sanmeiyu. Fuso is a poetic name for Japan and this one is credited to traveling haiku poet Matsuo Basho.


Three Great Night Views

三大夜景 Sandaiyakei

New Three Great Night Views

新三大夜景 Shin-sandaiyakei

  • Kitakyushu seen from Mount Sarakurayama,
  • Nara seen from Mount Wakakusayama
  • Yamanashi seen from Fuefuki River Fruit Park


Three Holy Places of Ōshū

奥州三霊場 Ōshū sanreijō are the three most famous pilgrimage sites in the ancient land of Oku (奥), now known as Tohoku.


Three Great Inari Shrines

三大稲荷 Sandai Inari

Note: As the head of all Inari shrines, Fushimi Inari Shrine is naturally one of the top three. The other top shrines have been proposed in various famous historical texts, so this particular "Top 3" is highly debated, often consisting of a list of more than three shrines (despite being a "Top Three" list). While it is generally agreed that Toyokawa Inari Shrine deserves the second spot, the third varies depending on the source. The most commonly listed are Saijo Inari and Yūtoku Inari Shrine. Most of the disputes regarding this list revolve around which of these two shrines should receive the third position.

There are a couple other Inari shrines that want to claim the third spot however, they are less commonly listed as such. They are Takekoma Shrine in Iwanuma and Kasuma Inari Shrine in Kasama.


Three Hidden Regions

三大秘境 Sandaihikkyō


Three Chinatowns

三大中華街　Sandai-chūkagai

This page was last edited by Jani Patokallio. Based on work by Paul Ashton, Julien and Bill Johnson, Wikitravel user(s) ChubbyWimbus, Texugo, Namazu-tron and Episteme and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license

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