Japan's Top 3

Views

Three Views

Sankei (三景). The most famous list of them all, attributed to scholar Hayashi Gahō back in 1643. They follow the Snow-Moon-Flower (雪月花) aesthetic with Amanohashidate representing the snow (雪), Matsushima representing the moon (月), and Miyajima representing the flower (花), although the "flowers" are said to actually be the autumn leaves.

Amanohashidate, Kyoto Matsushima, Miyagi Miyajima, Hiroshima

New Three Views 日本新三景

Onuma, Hokkaido Miho no Matsubara, Shizuoka Yaba Valley, Oita

Three Great Night Views

三大夜景 Sandaiyakei

Hakodate seen from Mount Hakodate Kobe and 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

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. All three are modern reconstructions, since Kumamoto Castle burned down during the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion and Nagoya and Osaka Castles were destroyed during World War II. Himeji Castle, widely recognized as Japan's greatest surviving castle, didn't make the cut back in the late 1600s.

Nagoya Castle Nagoya, Aichi Osaka Castle Osaka, Osaka Kumamoto Castle Kumamoto, Kumamoto

Three Great Mountain Castles 三大山城 Sandaiyamajiro

Bitchu Matsuyama Castle Takahashi Iwamura Castle Iwamura Takatori Castle Takatori

Three Great Flatland Mountain Castles 三大平山城 Sandaihirayamajiro.

Himeji Castle in Himeji, Hyogo Matsuyama Castle in Matsuyama, Ehime Tsuyama Castle in Tsuyama, Okayama

Three Famous Gardens

三名園 Sanmeien It is unclear when these gardens were chosen or by whom. The first recorded list dates back to 1899, but a postcard bought by Shiki Masaoka from his visit to Korakuen Garden in 1891 has "Korakuen Garden, Number 1 of the Top 3 Gardens" written on the back. It is widely believed that the gardens follow the "Snow-Moon-Flower" (雪月花) aesthetic coined by a famous Chinese poem by Bai Juyi. Kenrokuen Garden, famous for its snowy scenery, represents the "Snow" (雪), Korakuen Garden, which to this day has an autumn moon-viewing event, represents the "Moon" (月), and Kairakuen, known for its early spring plum blossoms, represents the "Flower" (花). In addition, each of the gardens are strolling gardens built by famous daimyo (The Tokugawa built Kairakuen, the Ikeda built Korakuen, and the Maeda built Kenrokuen) which is also believed to have played a role in which gardens were given the prestigious designation.

Kairakuen, Mito, Ibaraki Kenrokuen, Kanazawa, Ishikawa Kōrakuen, Okayama, Okayama

Festivals

Three Great Festivals 三大祭り Sandai Matsuri

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

Three Beautiful Festivals 日本三大美祭り Nihon Sandai bimatsuri

Gion Festival (Kyoto, Kyoto) Takayama Festival (Takayama, Gifu) Chichibu Yomatsuri (Chichibu, Saitama) The beauty list is often referenced interchangeably with the Three Great Float Festivals (日本三大曳山祭り Nihonsandai hikiyamamatsuri), which sometimes features Nagahama's Hikiyama Festival in place of the Chichibu Yomatsuri.

Three Great Obon Festivals 日本三大盆踊り Nihon Sandai Bon-odori

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

Three Great Naked Festivals 日本三大裸祭り Nihon Sandai Hadakamatsuri

Saidaiji Eyo (Okayama, Okayama) Wakamiya Shrine Autumn Festival (Bungotakada, Oita) Konomiya Naked Festival (Inazawa, Aichi) Some lists replace the Konomiya Naked Festival with the Hadakabo Festival in Hofu, Yamaguchi or the Furukawa Festival in Hida, Gifu.

Three Great Fireworks 日本三大花火 Nihon Sandai Hanabi

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

Three Tanabata Festivals 日本三大七夕祭り Nihon Sandai Tanabata-matsuri

Sendai Tanabata Festival (Sendai, Miyagi) Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival (Hiratsuka, Kanagawa) Ichinomiya Tanabata Festival (Ichinomiya, Aichi) Some list Anjo Tanabata Festival in Anjo instead of the Ichinomiya festival.

Hot springs

Certainly one of the more hotly contested categories (pun intended).

Three Great Hot Springs 三大温泉 Sandaionsen

Atami Onsen, Shizuoka Beppu Onsen, Oita Shirahama Onsen, Wakayama

Three Famous Springs 三名泉 Sanmeisen. Authored by Hayashi Razan, father of Hayashi Gahō.

Arima Onsen, Hyogo Gero Onsen, Gifu Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma

Three Old Springs

三古湯 Sankotō, Three Old Hot Springs.

Dogo Onsen, Ehime Arima Onsen, Hyogo Shirahama, Wakayama

Three Baths of Fusō 扶桑三名湯 Fusō-sanmeitō. Fusō is a poetic name for Japan and this one is credited to traveling haiku poet Matsuo Basho.

Arima Onsen, Hyogo Yamanaka Onsen, Ishikawa Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma

Shrines

Three Great Inari Shrines

三大稲荷 Sandai Inari 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, the list varies depending on the source. Takekoma Shrine in Iwanuma and Kasama Inari Shrine in Kasama are also suggested by some. To further confuse things, there is a "Top 5 Inari Shrines" (五大稲荷) list that doesn't contain any shrines in the "Top 3" list

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

Three Great Tenjin Shrines 三大天神 Sandai Tenjin 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.

Kitano Tenman-gū in Kyoto, Kyoto Dazaifu Tenman-gū in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Hōfu Tenman-gū in Hofu, Yamaguchi

Three Great Hachiman Shrines 三八幡 San Hachiman

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

Three Great Torii 三大鳥居 Sandai Torii

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

Temples

Three Sacred Grounds

三大霊場 sandai-reijo

Mount Koya Mount Hiei Mount Osore

Three Famous Big Buddhas

三大大仏 Sandai-daibutsu

Todaiji, Nara Kotokuin, Kamakura Daibutsuji, Takaoka

Three Pagodas 三名塔 Sanmeitō

Horyuji, Ikaruga, Nara Daigoji, Kyoto, Kyoto Rurikoji, Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi

Three Hase Temples 三長谷 Sanhase

Hasedera (Sakurai, Nara) Hasedera (Kamakura, Kanagawa) Hasedera (Nagano, Nagano)

Three Kannon Temples 三大観音 Sandai Kannon

Asakusa Kannon (Tokyo, Tokyo) Osu Kannon (Nagoya, Aichi) Tsu Kannon (Tsu, Mie)

Nature

Three Famous Mountains 三名山 Sanmeizan (Three Famous Mountains), also 三霊山 Sanreizan (Three Sacred Mountains)

Mount Fuji Mount Haku Mount Tate

Three Clear Water Rivers 三大清流 Sandai seiryū

Kakita River, Shizuoka Nagara River, Gifu Shimanto River, Kochi

Three Gorges 三大渓谷 Sandai Keikoku

Kiyotsu Gorge (Tokamachi, Niigata) Kurobe Gorge (Kurobe, Toyama) Osugi Gorge (Odai, Mie)

Three Rapid Tides 三大急潮 Sandai kyūchō

Kurushima Strait off Imabari Naruto Strait between Awaji Island and Naruto (Tokushima) Kanmon Strait between Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu

Three Caves 三大鍾乳洞 Sandai-shōnyūdō

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

Three Waterfalls 日本三名瀑 Nihon San-meibaku

Nachi Falls Kegon Falls Fukuroda Falls (Ibaraki Prefecture)

Three Pine Groves 三大松原 Sandai-matsubara

Miho no Matsubara (Shizuoka, Shizuoka) Niji no Matsubara (Karatsu, Saga) Kehi no Matsubara (Tsuruga, Fukui)

Three Snow Monsters 三大樹氷 Sandai-juhyo Certain mountains in northern Japan have the right trees and weather conditions to cover the trees com