Places · Japan

Natural Wonders of Japan: The 4 Most Beautiful Places to Visit

4 places in the atlas

Japan is a chain of mountainous islands built by the same tectonic forces that make it one of the most volcanically and seismically active countries on Earth. Volcanoes, hot springs, and steep forested ranges dominate the land, and few are as recognisable as Mount Fuji, an active stratovolcano whose symmetry has shaped Japanese art for centuries. From subtropical southern reefs to snowy northern peaks, and a culture that celebrates the seasons, nature is woven deeply into Japanese life. Below are the 4 natural wonders of Japan in the atlas — the most beautiful places to build a trip around, each with what makes it remarkable, when to go, and how to reach it. Best overall time: Fuji's climbing season is roughly early July to early September; for clear views of the mountain, autumn and winter offer the crispest air.

Mount Fuji

Honshū, Japan

Japan's highest peak — an almost perfectly symmetrical, snow-capped stratovolcano rising to 3,776 metres, standing alone above the plains and visible on a clear day from central Tokyo, a hundred kilometres away.

Volcano East Asia

Jigokudani & the Snow Monkeys

Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

A steaming hot-spring valley in the mountains of Nagano — 'Hell Valley' — where wild Japanese macaques, the famous snow monkeys, come down through the winter forest to bathe in a natural thermal pool, the only place on Earth where monkeys soak in an onsen in the wild.

Hot spring East Asia

Shiretoko

Hokkaido, northern Japan

A wild peninsula at the edge of Japan where drift ice arrives each winter — feeding an extraordinary food chain of brown bears, salmon, sea eagles, and whales.

Forest East Asia

Yakushima

Kagoshima, southern Japan

A mossy, rain-soaked island of ancient cedar forest — home to yakusugi trees thousands of years old, whose primeval green world helped inspire the landscapes of Studio Ghibli.