This frescoed ancient burial mound is a colorful window into China’s influence in early Japan.

Huts like this were once a hub for the female divers who collected pearls and seafood off Japan's coasts.

Passengers are not allowed to set foot outside this station, but you can still enjoy spectacular views of the sea from the platform.

This battleship of a building was designed by a famed "mad architect."

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

Japan's longest-running music festival takes place on an isolated butterfly-shaped island.

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

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

Founded in 1880, this humble brewery still practices a disappearing technique of sake-making.

A giant rooftop ride with unbeatable views of Matsuyama city, the nearby mountain ranges, and the Inland Sea.

Designed by a computer, this intricate network of fluorescent green pipes has taken over a subway station.

The site of Japan’s first archaeological excavation is also the birthplace of fingerprint forensics.

This village is home to the largest existing settlement of the Ainu, the Indigenous people of Japan.

According to one legend, this bridge was crafted after monkeys formed a body-bridge across the gorge.

Take a few seconds to look at this abandoned, art-filled station as you pass by on the subway to Ueno.

Nope, not the one in France. The only officially-recognized reproduction of Monet’s garden in Giverny is located in a remote corner of Japan.

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

A train ride to the middle of nowhere gives its passengers some of the most iconic views of Japan's seasons.

Home to the world's oldest wooden building.

A rare example of an ancient Japanese hill castle believed to be the fortress of a legendary demon.

The buildings are among the few Frank Lloyd Wright structures still standing in Japan.

A deserted island in southwest Japan that once sheltered persecuted Christians.

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

Narrow passes cut out of mountains surround the medieval capital of Japan.