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

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

One of Kyoto's oldest food establishments has supplied soba noodles to temple priests and the Imperial Palace.

Have a soak at this retro bathhouse, where you will find Japan's first electric bath, tiling from Spain, and wood carvings representing the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.

Legend has it that centuries ago, a ghost once frequented this candy shop to feed her still-living baby.

It is believed that this Buddhist temple stands right on the gateway to the underworld.

Established over a thousand years ago, this family-run teahouse continues to serve skewers of sweet rice cake to this day.

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

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

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

With over 12,000 different species of plants, this botanical garden is Japan's oldest and most diverse.

Be a ninja - or just act like one.

Located in a remote mountain valley in Yamagata Prefecture, these hot springs have attracted bathers for over 450 years.

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

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

This giant seated Bhudda of Healing dates to the 1780s.

The third-tallest statue in the world depicts the "Buddha of Infinite Light," complete with observation deck in his chest.

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

An eerie maze of industrial factories looks like something out of a dystopian sci-fi.

A rare festival blending religion, blacksmiths, vagina dentata, sex workers, and the straight-up facts of life.

A taste of the macabre Tokyo's ritzy shopping district.

This western-themed amusement park is host to a large number of decaying animatronic cowboys.

This pond is so stunning it looks like you've stepped into one of Monet's masterpieces.

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