Mysterious lost empire of the Silk Road.

Idol made by King Jeroboam for the Israelites.

Celebrated as a center of civilization, the remains of the ancient city have been nearly destroyed by greed, egoism, and war.

A sacred lake with thousands of sacred carp and a biblical history.

A 1,500-year-old ghost settlement is slowly fading away.

A huge museum of much more than just agriculture displayed in a princess's palace.

Ruins of the Crusaders' headquarters.

A "miracle" that seems to produce more holy fistfights than holy revelations.

A historic chapel filled with colorful murals and a colorful past.

Once the most densely populated place in the world, this island is now a ghost town.

Steaming blood-red hot spring from hell.

Museum dedicated to the largest battleship ever built.

A Japanese shrine to dolls.

Largest graveyard in all of Japan surrounds a famous mausoleum.

One of the world's largest ancient burial mounds.

An unlikely hit, this museum is dedicated to the inventor of instant ramen and cup noodles.

The 10,000 Torii shrine.

Hot springs monkey spa in the middle of Hell's Valley.

Oddly touching memorial to a little-remembered nuclear tragedy.

A beautiful, dense forest in the shadow of Mount Fuji, with a tragic reputation.

Every autumn, this hillside is ablaze with red summer cypress.

The freshest fish here are the ones you catch yourself.

A picture-perfect town, perfect for blowing up.

Rodin's famous depiction of Dante's 'Inferno', amidst a sculpture garden of many of his other works.