A collection of nearly 5,000 yokai-themed toys, sculptures, and more, dating from the 1700s to the present day.

Home to 800-year-old zen basin, a 400-year-old pilgrim’s path, and a century-old industrial grotto.

A mountaintop shrine-temple guarded by a horde of half-demon priests.

The strange “kaiju” of Lake Imba that allegedly killed over a dozen men with a single strike of lightning.

Two ogres stand guard at the Oga Visitor Center.

This mythical weapon stuck on the mountaintop is also the site of the first honeymoon in Japan's history.

A unique shrine dedicated to the deified skull of a 17th-century Tokyo courtesan.

These medieval stone-cut Buddhist statues may protect visitors from being fired.

Home to a legend of the supernatural raccoon dog, a rare wooden structure of Edo, and witnesses of the Tokyo bombings.

A train station decorated by a giant replica of an ancient Shakōki-dogū figurine.

At a Japanese train station, a goddess emerges from a dumpling.

This ancient burial cave along a roadside is also home to several Buddhist sculptures.

Chiseled out of a sandstone cliff, one farmer's unfinished art project lies in ruins.

Nestled amid the trees lies an abandoned funicular railway that dates back to the 1920s.

This tiny stone in a children's park is what remains of an ancient, once-worshipped object.

This kitsch-forward diner is dedicated to an almost-forgotten “one-cent” prototype of okonomiyaki.

The statue's head is one of the few fragments of the original Urakami Cathedral to survive the atomic bomb.

Believed to hold the remains of Japan's most infamous fox spirit, this stone is said to kill those who dare approach.

This iconic sluice gate is a favorite haunt for joggers, fishing enthusiasts, and even ghost hunters.

Rubbing salt on this small stone dog is said to make wishes come true.

Exploring crime and punishment in feudal and pre-modern Japan.

This little known mountain has claimed four times as many lives as Everest.

A hole-in-the-wall antiquities museum in one of Tokyo's most popular megamalls.

High in the mountains of Kochi Prefecture, a magnificent library designed by a world-famous architect.