This giant statue pays homage to this temple's furry residents who keep the landscape pristine.

This quirky little private museum is home to more than a thousand stones, carved by nature, that resemble human faces.

This ancient burial site was once thought to be the home of a race distinctive to Ainu folklore.

A flight of this "ghost staircase" has 40 steps on the way up, but only 39 steps on the way down.

High in the mountains of Kochi Prefecture, a magnificent library designed by a world-famous architect.

Discover the past, present, and future of packaging in this unique Japanese museum.

Stone slabs along the coast warn of Japan's tsunami-ravaged past, often marking the highest point of a wave's reach.

An ingenious solution to a tricky engineering problem, this spiraling bridge takes drivers for a dizzying spin.

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

Turn around and stick your head between your legs for the best view of this tree-covered sandbar.

This ordinary set of steps is a must-see destination for fans of a certain romantic anime.

This beautiful Japanese garden is a memorial to the samurai who literally wrote the book on business as martial art.

Modern Japanese museum is buried by snow annually.

Roots and stumps that lay inundated for two millennia are on display in Japan's city of three mysteries.

A sculpture that resurrected the only tree standing following the devastating 2011 tsunami.

An infamous house made famous by director Takashi Shimizu.

A railway station takeout shop sells boxed meals in containers shaped like trains and snowmen that hold the country’s abundant regional delicacies.

A small island with no monkeys but plenty of military ruins.

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

A massive wintry wall of snow up to 66 feet tall flanks a highway through Japan's mountains.

This retro underwater observation tower would make the perfect lair for a sea-loving villain.

A shrine contains nearly 200 statues of the Buddhist deity Jizo, dressed in bibs by parents who have lost a child.

Closed for decades, this strange symbol of Japan's Expo '70 has finally opened its psychedelic insides to the public.

Coast along one of Japan’s mountain railways for coveted views of magnificent hydrangeas.