Ethiopia's "smoking mountain" is in one of the hottest regions on the planet and is home to two lava lakes.

This series of rope-style bridges brings visitors into a jungle layer that is usually reserved for birds and monkeys.

The souls of the dead have made these Ghanese crocodiles shockingly docile.

At Ghana's largest wildlife refuge you feel like you're right in the animals' backyard.

Topless shrine of northern Ghana.

The largest prehistoric ruins south of the Sahara, once a powerful center of international trade.

These naturally balancing rocks were pictured on every Zimbabwean banknote, up to the 100 trillion-dollar note.

A park built around the legend of a clam-loving giant who created a monumental midden.

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

The cemetery houses the remains of Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, one of Japan's most famous novelists.

A bovine sumo match in which both bulls live to fight another day.

The traditional houses along the coast of this charming Japanese fishing village allow people to sleep above the sea.

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

A network of sandy streets lined with verdant fukugi trees weaves throughout this tiny seaside town.

One of the bloodiest and most important battles in Japanese history is recreated with kitschy concrete statues.

A statue of a mischievous raccoon towers over this city park.

A sobering scientific reminder of the human damage caused by the advent of the nuclear age.

Constructed thousands of years ago, these stone circles offer incredible insight into the lives of the people who built them.

Make your own fake treats at this factory and workshop in the epicenter of Japan's food replica industry.

This temple is steeped in local folklore involving a teakettle and a raccoon dog.

A remote and slightly overgrown park filled with replicas of world landmarks.

This little town supplies Japan with most of its calligraphy brushes, still made by hand from animal fur.

This ancient shrine has been rebuilt every 20 years since the eighth century.

These Japanese ruins have been brought back to life with elaborately recreated buildings.