Inside the columbarium, thousands of colorful, high-tech Buddhas guard the ashes of the dead.

A calico cat named Tama was the wildly popular Super Station Master at this train stop in southeast Japan.

A railway station takeout shop sells boxed meals in containers shaped like trains and snowmen that hold the country’s abundant regional delicacies.

The largest volcanic caldera in Japan holds an entire city in its maw.

Closed for decades, this strange symbol of Japan's Expo '70 has finally opened its psychedelic insides to the public.

This active volcano's siren song to suicide jumpers forced authorities to build a fence.

Cherry blossom season comes early in this Japanese town where pink flowers line the streets and riverbanks.

A real-life replica of a home from Hayao Miyazaki's beloved movie "My Neighbor Totoro."

A steaming, boiling hellscape sources Hokkaido's thermal baths.

Unusual hexagonal rocks formed by cooling lava named for their resemblance to traditional Japanese tatami mats.

A Japanese cat island also populated by the descendants of a band of banished samurai.

Colloquially known as “piss alley,” this narrow street filled with tiny bars and barbecue stands looks like it was pulled straight out of “Blade Runner.”

We heard you like volcanoes so we put a volcano in your volcano so you can die for sure...

A massive cave complex boasts some of the clearest water (and most charming bats) in the world.

The legendary birthplace of the Japanese maneki-neko is dotted with hundreds of lucky beckoning cats.

The quintessential Japanese rock garden has existed for more than 500 years.

Japanese national treasure originally built in 593 CE.

This massive wooden building contains a giant Buddha, healing pillars, and tame deer wandering the grounds.

Once the most densely populated place in the world, this island is now a ghost town.

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

Hot springs monkey spa in the middle of Hell's Valley.

On Japan's Tashirojima Island, cats are king.

Religious dwelling in a Spanish volcano.

Northern Ireland's Brobdingnagian stepping stones.