In this nearly 1,000-year-old monastery, monks painstakingly restore old books.

Fine dining in the bizarre world of Lewis Carroll.

A Buddhist temple on an artificial island that houses a monument to the fugu fish.

This enormous monument is one of the most iconic structures in Tokyo, rudely nicknamed "The Golden Turd."

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

This adorable birdlike police box is designed based on a play on words.

Rows of stone statues are dressed up to mourn children that are lost before birth.

An unexpected curiosity cabinet hidden within a department store in the Japan Post tower.

This little replica of Lady Liberty provides a bit of NYC in a Japanese city.

The bartenders at this crime-fighting theme cafe are actual private detectives by day.

Drinkslinger is an unlikely vocation for a Buddhist monk, but at this Tokyo bar the enlightenment is served in a martini glass.

Shrine to Japanese water-goblins, complete with their preserved body parts.

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

Not quite the menace it once was, this monster still has some chops.

This Buddhist temple is home to the graves of the Japanese national legends, the 47 Ronin.

The original "capsule building" is a masterpiece of Metabolist architecture.

A 20-meter (65-foot) robot towers over Tokyo Bay.

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

A sudden, striking cluster of hills south of Padua has been attracting visitors for centuries.

The mummified relic of St. Catherine sits forever on a golden throne.

A large statue of Pope Gregory XIII in Bologna was disguised as Saint Petronius to avoid destruction.

A striking memorial recalls thousands of Bolognese men and women killed fighting fascists in World War II.

Time has been frozen at this station since the bombing in 1980—or so it was believed.

One of the earliest depictions of an Arthurian scene that is shrouded in mystery.