Nestled amid the trees lies an abandoned funicular railway that dates back to the 1920s.

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

This gnome sculpture and his wonderous hat forces train passengers to do a double-take.

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

The only Buddhist temple in Japan dedicated to breasts.

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

This phallic temple was erected in the forest to honor the tragic death of a samurai lord's son.

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

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

Mythical beasts symbolizing the city of Tokyo guard a historic bridge.

This water goblin statue represents a 19th-century urban legend about a haunted canal that became a Japanese idiom.

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

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

This Japanese Manneken Pis gets new outfits for every occasion.

Approximately 300 million years ago, a massive coral reef existed in what is now the largest limestone cave in Japan.

This incredible mountainside temple is home to intriguing statues of demon-like creatures.

This 14th-century temple is also known as the "Temple of the Golden Pavilion" for its gorgeous gilded reliquary hall.

A quaint amusement park now sits, rusting and forgotten among the foliage.

Blowtorches, tuna, and a jolly, chain-smoking proprietor mark this beloved street-food stand.

Japan's largest and oldest annual procession of floats, begun in 869.

A moss-covered statue of a Japanese Buddhist deity stands at a quiet temple in downtown Osaka.

One of Kyoto's oldest food establishments has supplied soba noodles to temple priests and the Imperial Palace.

The largest collection of model trains in the world is actually run using full-size locomotive technology.

An eerie maze of industrial factories looks like something out of a dystopian sci-fi.