Asia attractions

Enjoy a day filled with learning, fun, and adventure at Kidzania Singapore. Located on Sentosa Island, KidZania Singapore is a kid-sized mini-city where children can learn important life skills and gain valuable experience by role-playing different jobs and taking part in a range of interactive and fun educational activities.

The annual Nebuta Matsuri is a major festival in Aomori, but if you’re visiting the northern city outside of early August, you can see the Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse instead. Learn about the colorful festival’s historical and cultural significance, watch footage and listen to music, and admire several full-size floats that have participated.

Famous for its lush countryside and strawberry orchards, the Bandung region of Ciwidey provides a respite from West Java’s humid lowlands with its cool climate. Its biggest claim to fame is the White Crater (Kawah Putih), a crater lake filled with turquoise water and surrounded by tree-covered cliffs.

Located in Tanah Rata, part of the Cameron Highlands, Rose Valley lives up to its name with more than 450 types of roses. This hillside flower garden also boasts other plants in a terraced garden, along with sculptures, a pond, a café, a plant nursery, and a viewpoint overlooking the highlands.

Yebisu Garden Place is a multibuilding commercial complex in central Tokyo’s Ebisu neighborhood, where you’ll find restaurants, shops, hotels, and museums, including the Museum of Yebisu Beer and the small Tokyo Photographic Art Museum. Like other cities-within-the-city, it offers a convenient way to enjoy several kinds of experiences in one location.

Following renovation in 2018, Boracay's most famous stretch of sand, the 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) White Beach, delivers exactly what you want a beautiful beach to. Its sand is powdery and bright, and its water is warm and translucent. It’s also one of the best places on the island to catch the sunset.

Despite the name, you’re unlikely to encounter a barracuda in Coron’s Barracuda Lake. Beyond the sculptural rock formations and flickering light, what makes this limestone lagoon so special is the temperature variation: Cool fresh water gives way to geothermally heated brackish water then neutral salt water, creating a series of shimmering thermoclines.

On the southeastern outskirts of Fukuoka City, the ancient Dazaifu Tenmangu is one of Japan’s most important Shinto shrines. Visitors can stroll through the beautiful grounds filled with cypress trees, visit several shrine buildings, see a classical dance or art performance (often on the schedule), and learn more about Shinto at the two on-site museums.

Families and travelers who appreciate quaint, unusual collections will enjoy visiting Kawaguchiko’s Music Forest Museum, a small theme park dedicated to music boxes and automatic musical instruments. Peruse the antique music boxes and mechanical organs in the indoor exhibition spaces, then stroll through pretty European-style gardens with great views of nearby Mt. Fuji when the weather’s clear.

Towering twice as high as the Statue of Liberty is tall, the Three Gorges Dam is earth’s largest hydroelectric project and home to the planet’s largest boat lift—the Three Gorges Dam Five-Step Ship Lock. It has reshaped not only the Yangtze River but the Three Gorges that gave it its name: Xutang Gorge, Wu Gorge, and Xiling Gorge.

Sunshine 60 is a skyscraper in central Tokyo with a 60th-floor observatory deck. The views of the surrounding city from 823 feet (251 meters) above are spectacular, and its central-city location in Ikebukuro makes it a good place to fit into your itinerary between shopping and dining. Visit during the day or at night with kids or friends for sweeping views, especially when the weather’s clear.

Folklore says that Sojobo, the mythological King of the Tengu, inhabits Kurama, a rural temple town in the foothills of the northern Kyoto mountains. Less than an hour from Kyoto, Mt. Kurama is a popular choice for a day trip, famous for its hot springs and mountain top temple.

Check out the views of Bangkok from the 61st floor of the Moon Bar, the city’s best venue to sip a delicately crafted cocktail and watch the sunset. This is a popular spot, so you might have to wait—but the views are worth it, especially at nighttime. Sathon is close to Lumphini Park, so it makes a great stop after a day of sightseeing.

One of Hokkaido’s best-known sightseeing spots, historic Otaru Canal provides a nostalgic glimpse into the days when the region was a hub of trade with Russia and China. Lined with turn-of-the-century brick storehouses that now house shops, cafés, and museums, Otaru Canal is a lovely spot for a stroll.

Among Bhubaneswar's oldest attractions, the Khandagiri Caves are a grouping of 15 rock-cut cave temples that date back to the 1st and 2nd centuries BC. The caves were built by Kharavela, who was the ruler of the Meghavahana Dynasty at the time, as a refuge for Jain monks.

This family-owned cocoa farm turns learning about chocolate—and tasting it—into a hands-on, personal experience. The owner leads all farm tours, welcomes every visitor like a VIP, and demystifies the process from cocoa bean to chocolate treat, offering samples along the way. (Be sure to bring home a chocolate souvenir.)

The Group of Monuments at Hampi is a beautifully preserved collection of ancient palaces and temples dating primarily from the 14th through 16th centuries. It stands as a testament to the Kingdom of Vijayanagar, a Dravidian kingdom that once had its capital in Hampi.

Escape the concrete jungle of Hong Kong and get in touch with nature at Hong Kong Wetland Park, an ecological park dedicated to conservation and education. The park consists of re-created wetland habitats for the native wildlife of the New Territories, and offers an entertaining and informative outing for the whole family.

Flowing from Lake Towada in Aomori’s Towada-Hachimantai National Park, the Oirase Gorge is a popular destination for hiking, biking, and spending time in nature, especially in the fall season. Tohoku in general is known for its autumn foliage, and the Oirase Gorge is a top spot thanks to the contrast between the green moss and the blaze of leaves.

Part of the massive Chimelong Tourist Resort in Guangzhou, Chimelong Water Park is one of the most popular water parks in the world, welcoming more than 2 million visitors a year. Spanning 450 acres (182 hectares), the largest water park in Asia offers plenty of slides, pools, and rides for families and thrill-seekers alike.

About an hour's drive north of Gaya in the hills of Makhdumpur, the Barabar Caves are believed to date to the third century AD, making them among the oldest rock-cut cave temples in India. They’re worth visiting if you’re already spending time in Gaya or Bodh Gaya and want to deepen your knowledge of Buddhist history.

Hong Kong Central, as the names suggests, is the main business and commercial district of Hong Kong Island. One of the earliest areas to be developed, today Central is a heady mix of new and old, packed with skyscrapers next to historical landmarks, swanky malls near traditional shops, and a constantly evolving retail, dining, and nightlife scene.

A rocky, jungle-clad islet with a long white tail of powder-soft sand stretching all the way to the mainland, Snake Island—officially known as Vigan Island—is one of El Nido’s most photogenic islands. It’s particularly striking at low tide, when a cavalcade of different shades of blue frames the brilliant white sandbar.

Lake Kawaguchi’s Maple Corridor (Momoji-kairo) is a row of beautiful maple trees framing either side of a canal. When the weather’s clear, line up the views properly and you can enjoy the sight of Mt. Fuji in the background and picturesque red leaves in the foreground. An annual leaf-viewing festival is held here in October and November.

Shizuoka City’s Miho no Matsubara, or Pine Grove, is a scenic area of over 50,000 pine trees along a 4.3-mile (7-kilometer) stretch of beach on a peninsula. It’s part of the Mt. Fuji UNESCO World Heritage Site and, with Fuji views on a clear day, it’s long been considered one of Japan’s most beautiful natural landscapes.

Matsushima Bay is home to hundreds of pine-covered islands in Miyagi Prefecture and has been named one of the three most iconic views in Japan. The biggest island, Fukuura Island, is reached by a long vermillion bridge and has hiking trails to explore. There’s also the Kantantei Tea House, which used to be famous for entertaining feudal lords.

It takes a little imagination to see how Dilumacad Island got its nickname, Helicopter Island, but as your boat sails in you’ll likely detect a tail rotor to your left and the cockpit to your right. However, it’s the golden sand beach, one of the Bacuit Archipelago’s longest, that draws island-hoppers. Scuba divers come for the green sea turtles that graze offshore.

Just south of Darjeeling, the Batasia Loop is a scenic turnaround point on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. As the name suggests, it’s where the track—on the Darjeeling Toy Train line—makes a big loop. In the middle of the track stands the Batasia Eco Garden and a war memorial to Gorkha soldiers at its center.

Located in Takayama City and discovered in 1965, the Hida Great Limestone Cave is unusual for its helictites, limestone formations that curve horizontally rather than vertically like the more common stalactites and stalagmites. The connected Ohashi Collection Kan Museum displays an eclectic array of artifacts from a private collection.

Situated at a height of 10,300 feet (3,140 meters) above sea level, near the source of the Ganges River (the Gaumukh Glacier), the Gangotri Temple is an important pilgrimage site that’s dedicated to the Ganges River, personified as the Goddess Ganga. It holds special significance in this part of India, and draws in large numbers of religious pilgrims every year.