List of Special Places of Scenic Beauty, Special Historic Sites and Special Natural Monuments

The Agency for Cultural Affairs designates monuments based on a number of criteria. A monument can be designated based on more than one of these criteria:^[4]

Places of Scenic Beauty and Special Places of Scenic Beauty

1. Parks and gardens
2. Bridges and embankments
3. Flowering trees, flowering grass, autumn colors, green trees and other places of dense growth
4. Places inhabited by birds and wild animals, fish/insects and others
5. Rocks, caves
6. Ravines, gorges, waterfalls, mountain streams, abysses
7. Lakes, marshes, wetlands, floating islands, springs
8. Sand dunes, spits, seasides, islands
9. Volcanoes, onsen
10. Mountains, hills, plateaus, plains, rivers
11. Viewpoints

Historic Sites and Special Historic Sites

1. Shell mounds, settlement ruins, kofun, other historic ruins of this type
2. Ruins of fortified towns, castles, government administration offices, old battlefields and other historic ruins related to politics or government
3. Remains of shrines and temples, former compound grounds and other historic ruins related to religion
4. Schools, research institutions, cultural facilities and other historic ruins related to education, learning or culture
5. Medical care and welfare facilities, life related institution, other society and life related historic ruins
6. Transport and communication facilities, forest conservation and flood control facilities, manufacture facilities and other historic sites related to finance or manufacture activities
7. Graves and stone monuments with inscriptions
8. Former residences, gardens, ponds and other areas of particular historical significance
9. Ruins related to foreign countries or foreigners

Natural Monuments and Special Natural Monuments

1. Animals
   1. Well-known animals peculiar to Japan and their habitat
   2. Animals which are not peculiar to Japan, but need to be preserved as well-known characteristic Japanese animals, and their habitat
   3. Animals or animal groups peculiar to Japan within their natural environment
   4. Domestic animals peculiar to Japan
   5. Well-known imported animals presently in a wild state, with the exception of domestic animals; their habitat
   6. Particularly valuable animal specimen
2. Plants, vegetation
   1. Old trees of historic interest, gigantic trees, old trees, deformed trees, cultivated pulpwood, roadside trees, shrine forests
   2. Representative primeval forests, rare forest flora
   3. Representative alpine plants, special clusters of plants on rock ground
   4. Representative clusters of waste land plants
   5. Representative examples of coastal and sand ground vegetation
   6. Representative examples of areas of peat forming plants
   7. Clusters of plants growing in caves or grottoes
   8. Rare water plants in garden ponds, onsen, lakes, marshes, streams, sea, etc.; algae, moss, microbes, etc.
   9. Remarkable occurrence of epiphytic plants on rocks, trees or shrubs
   10. Remarkable plant growth on marginal land
   11. Remarkable growth in the wild of crop plants
   12. Wild habitat of rare or near extinct plants
3. Geological and mineralogical features
   1. Rocks, mineral and fossil producing sites
   2. Conformable and unconformable strata
   3. Fold and thrust strata
   4. Geological features caused by the work of living creatures
   5. Phenomena related to earthquake dislocation and landmass motion
   6. Caves, grottoes
   7. Examples of rock organization
   8. Onsen and their sediments
   9. Erosion and weathering related phenomena
   10. Fumaroles and other items related to volcanic activity
   11. Ice and frost related phenomena
   12. Particularly precious rock, mineral and fossil specimen
4. Representative territories rich in natural monuments to be protected (Natural Protected Areas)

The table's columns (except for Remarks and Photo) are sortable pressing the arrows symbols. The following gives an overview of what is included in the table and how the sorting works.

• Name: name of the monument as registered in the Database of Cultural Properties
• Special Place of Scenic Beauty: criteria under which the monument has been designated or "-" if it is not a Special Place of Scenic Beauty
• Special Historic Site: criteria under which the monument has been designated or "-" if it is not a Special Historic Site
• Special Natural Monument: criteria under which the monument has been designated or "-" if it is not a Special Natural Monument
• Remarks: general remarks
• Location: "town-name prefecture-name" and geo coordinates of the monument if applicable

• sorts as "prefecture-name town-name"

• Photo: picture of the monument