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

A museum dedicated to the history of Tokyo's often-overlooked working-class district.

Devoted Buddhists can earn enlightenment in the next life by crawling through this symbolic nostril.

Surreal giant face-pillars welcome visitors from across the globe to this hotel.

These tiny pine-covered islands have inspired art and poetry for centuries.

This giant bronze Buddha, the third largest in Japan, is the last in an ill-fated series of statues.

The largest of its kind in Japan, this century-old wasabi farm is also known for its appearance in an Akira Kurosawa film.

Stretching for 22 miles, the world's longest tree-lined avenue dates back to the early 17th-century.

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

It is said that coins washed in the waters here will miraculously multiply.

One in a pair of subterranean caves created by an ancient eruption of Mount Fuji.

Be a ninja - or just act like one.

A 59-ft. robot statue looks over the citizens of earthquake-ravaged Kobe.

What's believed to be the country's first shrine is, in Shintō mythology, the annual meeting place of the gods.

This enormous "shamoji" means more to the people of Miyajima than just a way getting rice onto a plate.

Approximately 300 million years ago, a massive coral reef existed in what is now the largest limestone cave in Japan.

The largest archaeological site from the Yayoi period.

Japan's hottest hot spring has a memorable name.

This mythical weapon stuck on the mountaintop is also the site of the first honeymoon in Japan's history.

Founded over a thousand years ago, this shrine is said to be built on the site of a warlord's harem prison.

Elaborate series of tunnels where traces of mass suicide are still visible.

The Buddhist temples of Yamadera, built into a mountain side, feature a viewing deck with sweeping views.

Each year this Japanese temple overflows with scowling, bearded good luck talismans.

The Hanshin Expressway goes right through its 5th, 6th, and 7th floors.