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

Criteria

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

Usage