During prohibition, corrupt city officials ran drinking dens under the streets of Downtown Los Angeles.

Big gun installations, built over a massive cemetery, now abandoned & hidden in trees.

The remains of a ruined mansion memorialize the 1906 earthquake.

The randomness of this wall of lava lamps helps encrypt up to 10 percent of the internet.

The one-time watch house for incoming ships at the Golden Gate now stands abandoned and hidden in trees.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

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

These wondrously illuminated caverns extend under the mountains of the Fukushima Prefecture.

These ordinary blocks of stone are the last surviving remains of Tokyo's infamous red-light district.

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

The Japanese mayo factory famous for its cute mascot.

Haunted house kitsch meets Japanese folklore at this theme bar where patrons can “die” and have their own mock funeral.

A tiny collection of traditional Japanese woodblock prints, open only when the owner feels like it.

The demolished ruins of a poorly located Japanese Love Hotel.

This faux-seedy Japanese arcade is made up to look like a maze of alleys straight out of a cyberpunk dystopia.

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

Japan's iconic sci-fi hero rendered to 8-bit by notorious French street artist Invader.

The site of Japan's first major environmental disaster.

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

A kitsch shrine dedicated to the ogre-slaying folktale hero born from a peach.

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

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

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

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