Japan's Top 3

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:

Views

Three Views

ItsukushimaTorii7381 - Floating torii, Miyajima

• Sankei - 三景 - Three Views of Japan 44867 The most famous list of them all, attributed to scholar Hayashi Razan back in 1643.

• Amanohashidate, Kyoto (prefecture) | Kyoto
• Matsushima, Miyagi
• Miyajima, Hiroshima (prefecture) | Hiroshima

New Three Views

日本新三景

• Onuma, Hokkaido
• Shizuoka#See|Miho no Matsubara, Shizuoka (prefecture) | Shizuoka
• Nakatsu|Yaba Valley, Oita (prefecture) | Oita

Three Great Night Views

Nagasaki City view from Mt Inasa08s - View from Nagasaki|Mount Inasa

三大夜景 Sandaiyakei

• Hakodate seen from Mount Hakodate
• Kobe and Osaka|Osaka Bay seen from Mount Rokko
• Nagasaki seen from Mount Inasa

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

Castles

File:090411 Himeji Castle Hyogo pref Japan01s10 - Himeji Castle Bitchu Matsuyama 1 - Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, Takahashi

Three Famous Castles

三名城 Sanmeijō. A list written by Ogyu Sorai in the Edo Period. He chose these three castles as the top among those designed by Kato Kiyomasa and Todo Takatora who he considered to be the best castle designers.

• Nagoya Castle Nagoya, Aichi
• Osaka Castle Osaka, Osaka (prefecture) | Osaka
• Kumamoto Castle Kumamoto, Kumamoto (prefecture) | Kumamoto

Three Great Mountain Castles

三大山城 Sandaiyamashiro

• Iwamura Castle Iwamura
• Takatori Castle Takatori
• Bitchu Matsuyama Castle Takahashi

Three Great Flatland Mountain Castles

三大平山城 Sandaihiroyamashiro

• Tsuyama Castle in Tsuyama, Okayama (prefecture) | Okayama
• Himeji Castle in Himeji, Hyogo
• Matsuyama Castle in Matsuyama, Ehime

Three Famous Gardens

Korakuen Overview - Korakuen Garden, Okayama 三名園 Sanmeien

• Kairakuen, Mito, Ibaraki
• Kenrokuen, Kanazawa, Ishikawa
• Kōrakuen, Okayama, Okayama (prefecture) | Okayama

Three Famous Mountains

01 Fujisan from Yamanakako 2004-2-7 - Mount Fuji 三名山 Sanmeizan (Three Famous Mountains), also 三霊山 Sanreizan (Three Sacred Mountains)

• Mount Fuji
• Hakusan National Park|Mount Haku
• Mount Tate

Three Sacred Grounds

Okunoin palisade grave - Okunoin graves on Mount Koya

三大霊場 sandai-reijo

• Mount Koya
• Mount Hiei
• Mount Osore

Three Famous Big Buddhas

Kamakura Daibutsu JIM9943-vi - Great Buddha of Kamakura 三大大仏 Sandai-daibutsu

• Todaiji, Nara
• Kotokuin, Kamakura
• Daibutsuji, Takaoka

Three Great Festivals

File:ワ・ラッセ - panoramio (1) - Nebuta Matsuri, Aomori Gujo9 - Gujo Odori, Gujo File:大会提供花火（2014） - Omagari Fireworks, Daisen (Akita) | Daisen

三大祭 Sandaisai

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

The Nebuta Matsuri of Aomori is often considered to be one of the top three festivals, but it is actually only listed as one of the top three festivals of the Tohoku|Tohoku region (below).

Three Great Festivals of Tohoku

東北三大祭り

• Nebuta Matsuri Aomori, Aomori (prefecture) | Aomori
• Kanto Matsuri Akita, Akita (prefecture) | Akita
• Tanabata Matsuri Sendai, Miyagi

Three Great Festivals of Kyoto

京都三大祭

• Gion Matsuri
• Aoi Matsuri
• Jidai Matsuri

Three Great Festivals of Shikoku

四国三大祭り

• Awa Odori (Tokushima)
• Yosakoi Festival (Kochi)
• Niihama Taiko Festival (Niihama)

Three Great Obon Festivals

日本三大盆踊り

• Nishimonai Festival (Ugo, Akita (prefecture) | Akita)
• Gujo Odori (Gujo, Gifu (prefecture) | Gifu)
• Awa Odori (Tokushima, Tokushima (prefecture) | Tokushima)

Three Great Fireworks

日本三大花火

• Omagari Fireworks (Daisen (Akita) | Daisen, Akita (prefecture) | Akita)
• Tsuchiura All Japan Fireworks (Tsuchiura, Ibaraki (prefecture) | Ibaraki)
• Nagaoka Fireworks (Nagaoka, Niigata (prefecture) | Niigata)

Three Hot springs|Hot Springs

Certainly one of the more hotly contested categories. (No pun intended).

Onsen park -Shirahama Onsen - Shirahama Onsen

Three Great Hot Springs

三大温泉 Sandaionsen

• Atami, Shizuoka (prefecture) | Shizuoka
• Beppu, Oita (prefecture) | Oita
• Shirahama, Wakayama (prefecture) | Wakayama

Three Famous Springs

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

• Arima Onsen, Hyogo
• Gero Onsen, Gifu (prefecture) | Gifu
• Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma

Three Old Springs

DogoOnsen SideView - Bathhouse, Dogo Onsen

三古湯 Sankosen

• Dogo Onsen, Ehime
• Arima Onsen, Hyogo
• Shirahama, Wakayama (prefecture) | Wakayama

Three Baths of Fusō

扶桑三名湯 Fusō-sanmeiyu. Fusō is a poetic name for Japan and this one is credited to traveling haiku poet Narrow Road to the Deep North|Matsuo Basho.

• Arima Onsen, Hyogo
• Kaga|Yamanaka Onsen, Ishikawa
• Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma

Three Holy Places of Ōshū

Jigoku YellowCauldron - Sulphur pit, Mount Osore

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.

• Kinkasan
• Mount Osore
• Dewa Sanzan

Shrines

Three Great Inari Shrines

Kyoto Schrein Fushimi-Inari-taisha Torii 12 - Fushimi Inari, Kyoto Usa Shrine (Nanchūrōmon) - Usa Shrine, Usa [[150228 Kehi-jingu Tsuruga Fukui pref Japan02s3 - Kehi Shrine's Torii Gate

三大稲荷 Sandai Inari

• Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto
• Toyokawa Inari Shrine, Aichi
• Saijō Inari, Okayama or Yūtoku Inari Shrine, Kashima

As the head of all Inari shrines, Fushimi Inari Shrine is naturally one of the top three, but there is little historical or present consensus on the others. After Fushimi Inari and the list varies depending on the source. Takekoma Shrine in Iwanuma and Kasuma Inari Shrine in Kasama (Ibaraki) | Kasama are also suggested by some.

Three Great Tenjin Shrines

三大天神 Sandai Tenjin

• Kitano Tenman-gū in Kyoto, Kyoto (prefecture) | Kyoto
• Dazaifu Tenman-gū in Dazaifu, Fukuoka (prefecture) | Fukuoka
• Hōfu Tenman-gū in Hofu, Yamaguchi (prefecture) | Yamaguchi

All Tenjin (Tenmangu) shrines are dedicated to the worship of Sugawara Michizane. This top three list actually highlights his exile from Kyoto to Dazaifu. Along the way, he stopped in Hofu and built the first Tenjin shrine. Official dedication of shrines to him began after his death when a series of natural disasters and tragedies in the capital were believed to be caused by his restless soul seeking vengeance for his unjust exile. Kitano Tenmangu was built to pacify him.

Three Great Hachiman Shrines

三八幡 San Hachiman

• Usa Hachimangu Shrine (Usa (Oita) | Usa, Oita (prefecture) | Oita)
• Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine (Yawata, Kyoto (prefecture) | Kyoto)
• Hakozaki Hachimangu Shrine (Fukuoka, Fukuoka (prefecture) | Fukuoka)

Three Great Torii

三大鳥居 Sandai Torii

• Omiwa Shrine (Sakurai, Nara (prefecture) | Nara)
• Itsukushima Shrine (Miyajima, Hiroshima (prefecture) | Hiroshima)
• Kehi Shrine (Tsuruga, Fukui (prefecture) | Fukui)

Nature

Kazurabashi IyaValley2 - Vine bridge, Iya Valley File:大杉谷1 - Osugi Gorge Kegon Taki - Kegon Falls

Three Hidden Regions

三大秘境 Sandaihikkyō

• Shirakawa-go, Gifu (prefecture) | Gifu
• Iya Valley, Tokushima (prefecture) | Tokushima
• Shiiba, Miyazaki (prefecture) | Miyazaki

Top Three Gorges

三大渓谷

• Kiyotsu Gorge, Niigata (prefecture) | Niigata
• Kurobe Gorge, Toyama (prefecture) | Toyama
• Osugi Gorge, Mie (prefecture) | Mie

Three Caves

日本三大鍾乳洞

• Akiyoshi-do (Akiyoshidai, Yamaguchi (prefecture) | Yamaguchi)
• Ryuga-do (Kami, Kochi (prefecture) | Kochi)
• Ryusen-do Cave (Iwaizumi, Iwate (prefecture) | Iwate)

Three Waterfalls

日本三名瀑

• Nachikatsuura|Nachi Falls
• Nikko|Kegon Falls
• Daigo|Fukuroda Falls

Three Sake Towns

Kamotsuru Sake Brewing - Sake Brewery in Higashihiroshima 日本三大酒処

• Fushimi, Kyoto
• Nada, Kobe
• Saijō, Higashihiroshima

Three Lacquerware Towns

日本三大漆器

• Kainan, Wakayama
• Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima
• Wajima, Ishikawa

Three Chinatowns

Chinatown Yokohama - Chinatown, Yokohama

三大中華街　Sandai-chūkagai

• Yokohama Chūkagai, Yokohama
• Shinchi-Chūkagai, Nagasaki
• Nankinmachi, Kobe