Fushimi Inari, Mount Fuji and Shirakawa-go: Three Japanese Scenes Made for Paper

Some places look as if they were designed to be cut from paper. Bold shapes, layered depth, one strong colour against a soft background. Japan has a remarkable number of them. When we built the Japan scenes for Paper Worlds, we kept coming back to three.

Here's a short, unhurried tour of each, for anyone planning a trip or just wishing they were somewhere else this evening.

Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto

The view: a tunnel of vermilion gates winding up a forested mountain.

Fushimi Inari Taisha, in the south of Kyoto, is the head shrine of Inari, the Shinto kami associated with rice, prosperity, and business. The shrine is famous for its senbon torii, "thousands of torii gates," which form long tunnels along trails up Mount Inari. Many of the gates were donated by businesses and individuals, and their names are inscribed on the back of each pillar.

Look out for foxes (kitsune) in stone all over the grounds. They're considered Inari's messengers, and many hold a key, a jewel, or a scroll in their mouths.

Why it works in paper: repetition and rhythm. Row after row of the same orange shape, shrinking into the distance, is about the purest form of layered depth there is.

Travel tip: most visitors turn back after the first dense stretch of gates. Keep climbing and the crowds thin quickly, especially early in the morning.

Mount Fuji in cherry-blossom season

The view: a perfect snow-capped cone, framed by pale pink blossoms.

Mount Fuji, at 3,776 m, is Japan's highest mountain and one of its most enduring symbols. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage cultural site in 2013 as "a place of worship and source of artistic inspiration." Hokusai's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji made it one of the most painted mountains on Earth.

Our Fuji scene draws on Fujiyoshida, a town at the mountain's northern foot. It's home to one of the most photographed views in Japan: the five-storey Chureito Pagoda with Fuji behind it, reached by a long stairway up through Arakurayama Sengen Park. In cherry-blossom season, usually around early to mid April there, the hillside turns pink.

Why it works in paper: three simple layers. Blossoms in front, a pagoda or rooftops in the middle, and that clean triangle of a mountain behind.

Travel tip: Fuji is famously shy. It's often hidden in cloud by midday, so go early.

Shirakawa-go, Gifu

The view: steep thatched roofs under deep snow, windows glowing in the blue hour.

Shirakawa-go is a mountain village known for its gassho-zukuri farmhouses. The name means "praying hands," after the steep thatched roofs that meet at the top like palms pressed together. The steep pitch sheds the region's heavy snow, and the large attic spaces were traditionally used for silkworm cultivation.

Together with the nearby Gokayama villages, it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. Thatched roofs are still re-laid by the community, a job that can take a whole village working together.

Why it works in paper: big triangular shapes, soft white snow layers, and small warm windows. It's practically a paper diorama already.

Travel tip: the winter illumination evenings are spectacular but very popular, and they usually require advance booking. Check the dates before you go.

Travel from the sofa

You don't need a plane ticket for any of this. In Paper Worlds, the Around the World journey includes all three Japanese scenes. You place the gates, the mountain, and the farmhouses piece by piece, then keep each finished scene as a postcard. It's a slow way to visit, but slow is rather the point.

If Japan appeals, you might enjoy hanakotoba, the Japanese language of flowers, over in the Bloomette journal, or our note on the cherry blossom's meaning.