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:

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

日本新三景

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

三大夜景 Sandaiyakei

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

新三大夜景 Shin-sandaiyakei

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

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

三大山城 Sandaiyamajiro

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

三大平山城 Sandaihirayamajiro.

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

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

三大祭り Sandai Matsuri

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

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.

日本三大盆踊り Nihon Sandai Bon-odori

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

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.

日本三大花火 Nihon Sandai Hanabi

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

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.

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

三大温泉 Sandaionsen

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

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

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

三古湯 Sankotō, Three Old Hot Springs.

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

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

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

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

三八幡 San Hachiman

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

三大鳥居 Sandai Torii

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

三大霊場 sandai-reijo

• Mount Koya
• Mount Hiei
• Mount Osore

三大大仏 Sandai-daibutsu

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

三名塔 Sanmeitō

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

三長谷 Sanhase

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

三大観音 Sandai Kannon

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

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

• Mount Fuji
• Mount Haku
• Mount Tate

三大清流 Sandai seiryū

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

三大渓谷 Sandai Keikoku

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

三大急潮 Sandai kyūchō

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

三大鍾乳洞 Sandai-shōnyūdō

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

日本三名瀑 Nihon San-meibaku

• Nachi Falls
• Kegon Falls
• Fukuroda Falls (Ibaraki Prefecture)

三大松原 Sandai-matsubara

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

三大樹氷 Sandai-juhyo

Certain mountains in northern Japan have the right trees and weather conditions to cover the trees completely in snow to transform them into Juhyo (樹氷) or "Snow Monsters" (also sometimes called "Ice Monsters" in Japanese). These sites were chosen because they feature a good number of snow monsters along with having a ski lift for easy access.

• Mount Zao (Zaō Onsen, Yamagata)
• Mount Hakkoda (Aomori, Aomori)
• Mount Moriyoshi (Kitaakita, Akita)

三大桜名所 Sandai Sakura Meisho

• Mount Yoshino (Yoshino, Nara)
• Hirosaki Park (Hirosaki, Aomori)
• Takato Castle (Ina, Nagano)

三大桜 Sandai-zakura

• Miharu Takizakura (Miharu, Fukushima)
• Neodani Usuzumi-zakura (Motosu, Gifu)
• Yamataka Jindai-zakura (Hokuto, Yamanashi)

三大夜桜 Sandai-yozakura

• Takada Park (Joetsu, Niigata)
• Hirosaki Park (Hirosaki, Aomori)
• Ueno Park (Tokyo)

三大紅葉の里 Sandai-momiji-no-sato

• Nikko, Tochigi
• Arashiyama, Kyoto
• Yaba Gorge, Oita

三大秘境 Sandaihikyō

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

日本三大酒処 Sandai Sakedokoro

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

三大古戦場　Sandai-kosenjō

• Dan-no-ura 1185 (Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi)
• Okehazama 1560 (Nagoya, Aichi)
• Sekigahara 1600 (Sekigahara, Gifu)

日本三大蔵の町 Sandai Kuranomachi

• Kitakata, Fukushima
• Kawagoe, Saitama
• Kurashiki, Okayama

三大焼き物 Sandai-yakimono

• Mino-yaki (Tajimi and other eastern Gifu)
• Seto-yaki (Seto, Aichi)
• Arita-yaki (or Imari-yaki) (Arita and Imari, Saga)

日本三大漆器 Sandai Shikki

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

三大中華街　Sandai-chūkagai

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

三大美港 Sandai-bikō

• Shimizu, Shizuoka, Shizuoka
• Kobe, Hyogo
• Nagasaki, Nagasaki

三大漁港　Sandai-gyokō

• Kushiro, Hokkaido
• Choshi, Chiba (prefecture)
• Yaizu, Shizuoka (prefecture)

三大朝市　Sandai-asaichi

• Wajima, Ishikawa - (Unfortunately devastated by a great fire after the earthquake Jan 2024)
• Katsuura, Chiba
• Takayama, Gifu

三大そば Sandai-soba, buckwheat noodles

• Wanko Soba (Morioka/Hanamaki, Iwate)
• Izumo Soba (Izumo, Shimane)
• Togakushi Soba (Nagano, Nagano)

三大ラーメン Sandai-ramen

• Sapporo Ramen (Sapporo, Hokkaido) - miso soup based
• Kitakata Ramen (Kitakata, Fukushima) - soy sauce based
• Hakata Ramen (Fukuoka, Fukuoka) - pork broth based

三大うどん Sandai-udon

• Sanuki Udon (Takamatsu, Kagawa)
• Inaniwa Udon (Yuzawa, Akita)
• Mizusawa Udon (Shibukawa, Gunma)

三大和牛 Sandai-wagyu

• Kobe Beef (Kobe, Hyogo)
• Omi Beef (Shiga)
• Matsusaka Beef (Matsusaka, Mie)

Some sources also claim Yonezawa Beef (Yonezawa) is one of the top three beefs.

三大銘茶 Sandai-meicha

• Shizuoka
• Uji (Kyoto prefecture)
• Sayama (Saitama prefecture), or more recently Kagoshima

ホテル御三家 hoteru gosanke

• 35.672361139.7583331 The Imperial Hotel (帝国ホテル) (Tokyo).  
• 35.666944139.7441672 Hotel Okura (ホテルオークラ) (Tokyo).  
• 35.68087139.7341173 Hotel New Otani (ホテルニューオータニ) (Tokyo).  

老舗旅館の御三家 shinise ryokan no gosanke

• 35.010384135.765934 Tawaraya (俵屋) (Kyoto).  
• 35.010335135.7656665 Hiiragiya (柊家) (Kyoto).  
• 35.008286135.7658216 Sumiya (炭屋) (Kyoto).