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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:

[edit] Three Views

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

• Amanohashidate, Kyoto
• Matsushima, Miyagi
• Miyajima, Hiroshima

[edit] New Three Views

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

[edit] Castles

[edit] Three Famous Castles

三名城 Sanmeijō

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

[edit] Three Great Mountain Castles

三大山城 Sandaiyamashiro

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

[edit] Three Great Flatland Mountain Castles

三大平山城 Sandaihiroyamashiro

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

[edit] Three Famous Gardens

三名園 Sanmeien

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

[edit] Three Famous Mountains

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

• Mount Fuji
• Mount Haku
• Mount Tate

[edit] Three Sacred Grounds

三大霊場 sandai-reijo

• Mount Koya
• Mount Hiei
• Mount Osore

[edit] Three Famous Big Buddhas

三大大仏 Sandai-daibutsu

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

[edit] Three Great Festivals

三大祭 Sandaisai

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

The Neputa/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 region (below).

[edit] Three Great Festivals of Tohoku

• Nebuta Matsuri Aomori, Aomori
• Kanto Matsuri Akita, Akita
• Tanabata Matsuri Sendai, Miyagi

[edit] Three Great Festivals of Kyoto

• Gion Matsuri
• Aoi Matsuri
• Jidai Matsuri

[edit] Three Hot Springs

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

[edit] Three Great Hot Springs

三大温泉 Sandaionsen

• Atami, Shizuoka
• Beppu, Oita
• Shirahama, Wakayama

[edit] Three Famous Springs

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

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

[edit] Three Old Springs

三古湯 Sankosen

• Dogo Onsen, Ehime
• Arima Onsen, Hyogo
• Shirahama, Wakayama

[edit] 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.

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

[edit] 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

[edit] 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

[edit] 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.

• Kinkasan
• Mount Osore
• Dewa Sanzan

[edit] Shrines

[edit] Three Great Inari Shrines

三大稲荷 Sandai Inari

• Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto
• Toyokawa Inari Shrine, Aichi
• Saijo 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. While it is generally agreed that Toyokawa Inari Shrine deserves the second spot, the third varies depending on the source, and Takekoma Shrine in Iwanuma and Kasuma Inari Shrine in Kasama are also suggested by some.

[edit] Three Great Tenjin Shrines

三大天神 Sandai Tenjin

• Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto, Kyoto
• Dazaifu Tenmangu in Dazaifu, Fukuoka
• Hofu Tenmangu in Hofu, 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.

[edit] Three Great Hachiman Shrines

三八幡 San Hachiman

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

[edit] Three Great Torii

三大鳥居 Sandai Torii

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

[edit] Three Hidden Regions

三大秘境 Sandaihikkyō

• Shirakawa-go, Gifu
• Iya Valley, Tokushima
• Shiiba, Miyazaki

[edit] Three Caves

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

[edit] Three Sake Towns

日本三大酒処

• Fushimi, Kyoto
• Nada, Kobe
• Saijo, Higashi-Hiroshima

[edit] Three Chinatowns

三大中華街　Sandai-chūkagai

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

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