Japanese national parks

National parks of Japan (国立公園 kokuritsu-koen), 34 in total, are listed here by region from north to south. In addition, Japan has 58 Quasi-National Parks (国定公園 kokutei-koen) designated by the state and administered by prefectures.

Understand

Ministry of Environment has an official site for the National Parks and lists of both kinds of parks in English. Its Japanese site has a page for Quasi-National Parks with links to prefecture websites.

JNTO has a well-organized English-language site dedicated to National Parks.

Fees

Japanese national parks don't require any fee to enter. However, money on voluntary basis (協力金, kyōryokukin) may be collected in some areas, typically around high mountains, to help protecting the environment.

Hokkaido

Lakes in Shiretoko National Park

• 1 Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park – national park comprised of the volcanic islands of Rishiri and Rebun and the Sarobetsu Wetland, a popular bird watching spot

• 2 Shiretoko National Park – located on the Shiretoko Peninsula in eastern Hokkaido. It is home to a variety of wildlife and home to some of the most beautiful unspoiled scenery in Japan. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• 3 Akan-Mashu National Park – designated a national park on December 4, 1934, together with Daisetsuzan National Park, it is the oldest national park in Japan. The park is separated into two separate areas, the Akan area centered around the Akan caldera, and the Kawayu area, centered around the caldera lake of Lake Mashu and Lake Kussharo.

• 4 Kushiro-shitsugen National Park – home to Japan's largest wetland and the only place where the endangered Japanese crane can be found

• 5 Daisetsuzan National Park – Japan's largest park, home to many onsen towns and unspoilt wilderness. It is also home to Hokkaido's tallest mountain, Mount Asahi.

• 6 Shikotsu-Tōya National Park – centered around Lake Toya and Lake Shikotsu, which are both volcanic caldera lakes, it also includes the hot-spring town of Noboribetsu and a Jomon site that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tohoku

Blue Pond of Goshikinuma in Bandai-Asahi National Park

• 7 Towada-Hachimantai National Park
• 8 Sanriku Fukkō National Park – a park created in 2013, after the Great Tohoku Earthquake devastated the Sanriku Coast, to help reconstruct and revitalize the area.
• 9 Bandai-Asahi National Park – consists of the Iide and Asahi Mountains in Niigata Prefecture, the Bandai area of Fukushima Prefecture, and Dewa Sanzan in Yamagata Prefecture.

Kanto

• 10 Nikkō National Park
• 11 Oze National Park
• 12 Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park – A park that spans Tokyo, Saitama, Yamanashi, and Nagano Prefectures.
• 13 Ogasawara National Park

Chubu

Kamikochi in Chubu Sangaku National Park

• Joshin'etsukogen National Park

• Myoko-Togakushi Renzan National Park

• Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park – the amalgamation of Mount Fuji and its surrounding area, Hakone, the Izu Peninsula, and the Izu Islands.

• Chubu Sangaku National Park

• Hakusan National Park

• Minami Alps National Park – a park encompassing the Akaishi Mountains.

Kansai

• Ise-Shima National Park - All of Mie Prefecture from Ise on down.

• Yoshino-Kumano National Park - This park encompasses the entirety of the Kansai region from Yoshino on down.

Chugoku

View from Washuzan in Setonaikai National Park

• San-in Kaigan National Park - A coastal park, spanning the region around the Sea of Japan from Tottori to Kyoto Prefecture.

• Daisen-Oki National Park - A park centered around Mount Daisen and the Oki Islands, and also including the Hiruzen Highlands in Maniwa and the Izumo Plains in Izumo.

• Setonaikai National Park - The first and largest national park in Japan. Any place in or around the Seto Inland Sea is considered to be part of the park.

Shikoku

• Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park - A park made up of locations on the southwestern corner of Shikoku in Ehime and Kochi, including Cape Ashizuri.

Kyushu

Wilson Stump heart in Yakushima

• Saikai National Park - Western islands of Nagasaki prefecture.

• Unzen-Amakusa National Park

• Aso-Kuju National Park - Originally established strictly around Mount Aso, the park was later expanded to include the Kuju Mountains.

(Kirishima-Yaku National Park was divided to the following two Parks in 2012.)

• Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park

• Yakushima National Park

• Amami Gunto National Park - The nine islands of the Amami Islands were made a national park in 2017.

Okinawa

• 14 Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park

• Yambaru National Park - The northernmost peninsula of Okinawa Island, since 2016.

• Keramashoto National Park - See Kerama Islands. Since 2014.

Quasi-National Parks

• Onuma Quasi-National Park (Hokkaido)
• Lake Biwa Quasi-National Park (Shiga)
• Akiyoshidai Quasi-National Park (Yamaguchi)

See also

• National parks