🏯 Japan World Heritage Guide

Home » Kansai » Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara

Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara 飛鳥・藤原の宮都

Inscribed 2026CulturalNara

Sites of Japan's first true capitals, in the Asuka basin of Nara where the imperial court sat before the move to Nara in 710. Palace remains at Fujiwara and Asuka, great tombs such as Ishibutai and the mural tombs of Takamatsuzuka and Kitora, temples and the sacred Yamato Sanzan mountains illustrate the birth of the Japanese state and its early Buddhist culture. Inscribed in 2026, this is Japan's newest World Heritage site.

ADVERTISEMENT
Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara — 飛鳥・藤原の宮都
Photo: VanishingDuck · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscribed2026 (UNESCO World Heritage List)
Criteria(ii), (iii) — Cultural
PrefecturesNara
UNESCO listingwhc.unesco.org — ref. 1757
Component parts2 listed below
Coordinates34.47028, 135.82361 · Open in Google Maps

Component parts of Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara

The inscription is made up of 2 component parts. Open one for its location, coordinates and details.

Planning a visit

Opening hours, admission and the best access routes are managed by each site's local operators and change over time. Start with the official UNESCO listing and the local official tourism pages linked from Wikipedia below, and check the current information before you go.

Read more

Basic data from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Wikidata (CC0).

ADVERTISEMENT