🇯🇵 Japan · 日本 (Nihon)
Temples rebuilt every generation, castles built to be seen from far away, and a modernisation so fast it can be dated by rolling stock. Japan rewards close looking.
Japan's collection needs 3 more rounds before it opens. These are live today.
Japan changes fabric faster than most countries change governments. Timber, tile and paper give way to Meiji brick, then to reconstruction concrete, so texture dates a Japanese scene more reliably than any single monument.
Architecture
Deep eaves, exposed timber framing and grey kawara tile are traditional. White-plastered castle keeps on cyclopean stone bases are 1580–1620. Meiji-era red brick and Western facades are 1870–1912. Tight concrete streets with overhead cable are post-1950.
Landscape
Steep forested hills crowding a narrow coastal plain, terraced rice paddies, and a volcanic cone on the horizon. Cedar plantations in straight ranks are post-war reforestation.
Period tells
Torii and shrine complexes span everything, but a shinkansen viaduct means 1964 onwards, and a flattened city grid with new low buildings suggests 1945–55 reconstruction.
A starting shortlist, oldest first. Every one of these makes a round that the Japanese can nail and everyone else has to work out.
NaraMedieval
A bronze Buddha that consumed much of Japan's copper and nearly bankrupted the court.
GifuEarly modern
One foggy morning decided who would rule Japan for the next 268 years.
Uraga, Edo BayThe long 19th century
Steam frigates ended two centuries of seclusion within a year.
Tokyo–OsakaModern era
210 km/h service launched days before the Tokyo Olympics.
OsakaModern era
Sixty-four million visitors, moving walkways and the Tower of the Sun.
Japanese history touches medieval & renaissance, exploration & revolution, 19th century and the 20th century. Each of those eras has a timed round of its own — the same centuries, but questions drawn from every country in the library, so you find out whether you can date the rest of the period as confidently as you can date Japan.
Medieval & Renaissance
Japanese moment here: Tōdai-ji's Great Buddha cast (752).
Exploration & revolution
Japanese moment here: The Battle of Sekigahara (1600).
19th century
Japanese moment here: Perry's black ships arrive (1853).
20th century
Japanese moments here: The Tōkaidō Shinkansen opens (1964), Expo '70 opens (1970).
Dates, order and places from the moments above. Answers are printed underneath — cover them with a hand if you want to test yourself, or read them out for a quiz round.
1.Tōdai-ji's Great Buddha cast — what year?
Answer752
A bronze Buddha that consumed much of Japan's copper and nearly bankrupted the court.
2.The Battle of Sekigahara — what year?
Answer1600
One foggy morning decided who would rule Japan for the next 268 years.
3.Perry's black ships arrive — what year?
Answer1853
Steam frigates ended two centuries of seclusion within a year.
4.The Tōkaidō Shinkansen opens — what year?
Answer1964
210 km/h service launched days before the Tokyo Olympics.
5.Expo '70 opens — what year?
Answer1970
Sixty-four million visitors, moving walkways and the Tower of the Sun.
6.Which came first in Japan — Tōdai-ji's Great Buddha cast or the Battle of Sekigahara?
AnswerTōdai-ji's Great Buddha cast, in 752.
The Battle of Sekigahara follows in 1600, 848 years later.
7.Which came first in Japan — Perry's black ships arrive or the Tōkaidō Shinkansen opens?
AnswerPerry's black ships arrive, in 1853.
The Tōkaidō Shinkansen opens follows in 1964, 111 years later.
8.Where in Japan would you drop the pin for Tōdai-ji's Great Buddha cast?
AnswerNara
A bronze Buddha that consumed much of Japan's copper and nearly bankrupted the court.
9.Where in Japan would you drop the pin for the Battle of Sekigahara?
AnswerGifu
One foggy morning decided who would rule Japan for the next 268 years.
10.How far apart are the oldest and newest Japanese moments in this collection?
Answer1,218 years
From Tōdai-ji's Great Buddha cast in 752 to Expo '70 opens in 1970.
You don't need a photograph or a map reference. Name a moment — "Tōdai-ji's Great Buddha cast, Nara" — and the builder fills in the year, drops the pin, writes the factoid and paints a 360° scene you can stand inside. Publish it and it joins this collection for everyone.
Step 1
One line is enough — an event, a place, a year you half-remember. Or let the AI draft five moments around a theme.
Step 2
The year, the exact coordinates and a one-sentence factoid come back filled in. Everything stays editable.
Step 3
A 4K 360° panorama of that place in that year, ready to spin around inside the game.
🇯🇵 Put your own scene on /play/japan
Credits cover the AI: 1 to auto-fill a moment, 3 to draft five at once, 25 for each 4K panorama. Your map stays yours — you choose whether it's public, unlisted or private.
Moments the Japanese want to see in the game. Vote them up — the top of this list gets built next.
Each round drops you into a 360° scene from Japan's past. Look around for clues — architecture, clothing, technology, landscape — then place the scene on the world map and pick the year. You score up to 5,000 points a round: closer in distance and closer in time both pay. Five rounds make a game.
No. You can play Japanese rounds straight away with no sign-up. Signing in saves your XP, keeps your character progressing through history, and puts you on the leaderboards.
The collection spans 752 to 1970 — from tōdai-ji's great buddha cast through to expo '70 opens. New moments are added as the community suggests them.
Yes, completely free. There is no paywall on rounds, the daily challenge, or the leaderboards.
Yes — that's how the collection grows. Suggest any moment the Japanese would recognise instantly, like tōdai-ji's great buddha cast. Approved suggestions get built into playable 360° rounds and credited on the page.
Daily Challenge
Five fresh rounds every day, same for everyone.
History quizzes
Short quizzes across eras, empires and events.
Community maps
Panorama collections built by other players.
All game modes
Every free history game on the site, in one list.