A shrine contains nearly 200 statues of the Buddhist deity Jizo, dressed in bibs by parents who have lost a child.

This Kyoto Starbucks takes coffee drinkers back in time.

This 400-year-old sweet shop serves a delicacy some have described as "edible incense."

More than 300 years old, Kyoto's historic "teahouse" still operates as an invitation-only geisha club.

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

The groundbreaking Japanese shrine maiden who invented the art of kabuki.

This 700-year-old street food market features baby octopus and soy donuts.

Although damaged beyond recognition, this stone god is still said to bring good luck to those who tap on him with a pebble.

An enormous pair of straw sandals woven in the traditional way—to keep demons at bay.

Steampunk, humanoid sculptures crawl on all fours in a Tokyo plaza.

Tokyo’s only Vaudeville-cuckoo clock–steampunk-Victorian curio cabinet time piece.

Once a black market electronics marketplace, now an otaku shopper's paradise.

Legend holds eating just one of these black eggs can add seven years to one's life.

Once the main gateway to Tokyo, sneaking through this checkpoint was a capital offense in feudal times.

A massive display of meteorites all found in the Atacama Desert.

A park with one large cat sculpture and 15 smaller ones, all painted by different Colombian artists.

A priest with no formal artistic training used basic house paint to create gorgeous religious scenes inside this historic church.

This popular pitstop lives up to its name.

Twenty-seven massive radio antennas on the high plains of New Mexico search for life on other planets.

A one-of-a-kind sundial at the Very Large Array honors a radio astronomy pioneer, incorporating the original piers from his breakthrough radio telescope.

Twice a year, visitors can tour the desolate site that birthed the Atomic Age.

Austin’s local mountain isn’t really a mountain at all.

Home to an endangered salamander, a full moon celebration, and a large spring-fed outdoor swimming pool.

A fruit-loving town welcomes visitors with a giant melon set against the sky.