One of the last doorless, continuously moving elevators still in use in the U.K.

A tiny cafe that recreates the Japanese elementary school lunch experience.

The abandoned Japanese amusement park once loomed as a dystopian Disneyland.

Have a soak at this retro bathhouse, where you will find Japan's first electric bath, tiling from Spain, and wood carvings representing the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.

Disused for decades, this freight railway bridge is finally being renovated into a scenic promenade.

This public bathroom takes the form of a 19th-century lighthouse that once stood on the spot.

An old-fashioned school with interesting grounds and deep history, including the original Mito Castle gate.

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

This infamous execution site inspired the beginning of Japan's modernization in the late 18th-century.

This brothel-turned-restaurant features plenty of surprises and elaborate, extravagant architecture.

The oldest academic institution in Japan provides a glimpse of university life during the days of the samurai.

One of the few surviving World War II-era air-raid shelters in Tokyo.

This ancient burial cave along a roadside is also home to several Buddhist sculptures.

For centuries, this gold mine was the powerhouse behind the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Chiseled out of a sandstone cliff, one farmer's unfinished art project lies in ruins.

A bibliophile's heaven that contains hundreds of bookstores, offering over a third of secondhand books for sale in Tokyo.

This beautiful defunct water tower adds a European flair to a traditional Japanese neighborhood.

A wooden prison doesn't sound like a good idea, yet this abandoned 1950s detention center still stands today.

This Metabolist, retro-futuristic residential complex resembles a cyberpunk space colony established on Earth.

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

A culturally significant rural temple in the beautiful mountains of Itoshima.

The largest archaeological site from the Yayoi period.

This massive, beautifully-lit underground quarry leaves visitors in awe.

This strange mural located in the Ueno station is filled with traditional Japanese symbolism.