Existing for more than four centuries, the last of Hakone’s historic teahouses serves a sweet, mold-based rice drink.

This pair of small sea rocks has been "wed" using rope and ancient Shinto tradition.

A restaurant modeled after feudal Japan, where the waitstaff are trained as ninjas.

Nine Gardens in one—with tea service.

The oldest hotel in the world has been operated by the same family for over 1,300 years, even catering to samurai.

The sound of swaying stalks in this stunning grove has been named a governmentally recognized sound.

An exquisite tunnel of cascading flowers.

The largest prehistoric ruins south of the Sahara, once a powerful center of international trade.

An exquisite and eclectic selection of African masks stands out within a massive woodcarving marketplace.

It took 40 years to build this Eden-like garden in Marrakech, later restored by Yves Saint-Laurent.

An Ethiopian "Jerusalem" featuring a church hewn out of a single rock.

The palace window through which Protestant nobles flung two Catholic regents, thus sparking the Thirty Years' War.

Handsomely crafted representations of our round planet.

This fairy-tale, neo-Gothic church in the Azores is a world of magical realism.

A perfectly circular lake is formed by the crater of an ancient underwater volcano.

A monument marks the location of the first successful steamboat demonstration.

A historic coal mine that doubles as a museum and tourist attraction.

The honor of highest point in Michigan was almost given to the wrong peak before this mountain won out by 11 inches.

This lighthouse and shipwreck museum keep a torch burning for the memory of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.

The park is home to the United States's only still-operating Dutch windmill.

An unlikely beach paradise of giant sand dunes lies between two lakes just a few minutes from Michigan's cherry country.

This lone tree and dramatic sandstone outcropping are so beloved by Michiganders they can be found on one of the state’s coins.

A popular place to pick up prehistoric coral fossils from the time when Michigan was an ocean.

Island where motor vehicles are banned -- home to the only carless highway in the United States.