amstripling's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Kamakura, Japan

The Great Buddha of Kamakura

A bronze statue dating back as far as 1252, still has remnants of gold on its right cheek from ancient gilding.
Nara, Japan

Tōdai-ji Daibutsuden (The Great Buddha Hall)

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

Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine

The 10,000 Torii shrine.
Kyoto, Japan

Ryōan-ji

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

Buddha's Nostril

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

Hiroshima's Hypocenter

A plaque marks the site directly below the mid-air detonation of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima.
Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima Peace Memorial

Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome.
Hatsukaichi, Japan

World's Largest Rice Scoop

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

Itsukushima Shrine

Japanese national treasure originally built in 593 CE.
Tokyo, Japan

Kabukicho Robot Restaurant

Cabaret where the show girls are all androids, and the patrons couldn't be more pleased.
Oxford, England

Oak Beams, New College Oxford

The beams of the New College, Oxford dining hall come with an amazing story.
London, England

Natural History Museum of London

Eighty million natural history specimens call this gargantuan museum home.
Monistrol de Montserrat, Spain

Santa Cova of Montserrat

Holy Grotto of Montserrat Monastery holds one of Europe's mysterious black Madonnas.
Barcelona, Spain

Sagrada Família

Construction of Barcelona's iconic (but controversial) church is expected to be completed in 2026—a century after the death of its architect.
Segovia, Spain

Segovia Aqueduct

One of the few remaining ancient aqueducts described by Frontinus as 'the most solemn testimony of the Empire.'
Paju, South Korea

Third Tunnel of Aggression

Secret North Korean passage discovered below the world's most dangerous border.
Bloomington, Minnesota

The Mall of America

Equal parts record-breaking temple to consumerism and bizarre fun park, it's more than you think it is...
Carlsbad, New Mexico

Carlsbad Caverns

The second-largest cave chamber in the world was discovered in 1898 by a 16-year-old and a friend known as "Pothead."
Amarillo, Texas

Cadillac Ranch

A sculpture made of 10 Cadillacs as a monument to the "Golden Age" of the American automobile.
Alamosa, Colorado

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

When ecosystems collide in the arid Southwest.
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Mesa Verde National Park

The ancient dwellings of the Puebloans, located in the cliffs of majestic mesas.
Atlanta, Georgia

Krog Street Tunnel

An underground magnet for ever-changing street art.
Marietta, Georgia

Big Chicken

This abstract roadside poultry was saved from demolition by outraged drivers and pilots.
Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

Mammoth Cave

The world's longest known cave system.