Composed of scrap metal, a pair of platform-length murals chronicle Japan’s history, from the Big Bang to the development of modern Tokyo.

A site where ten to twenty thousand Edo-era prisoners were put to death.

This monument celebrates this shopping district's past history as a feudal silver mint.

Only electricity pylon built over two lanes of traffic.

A trio of keyhole-shaped burial mounds restored to their ancient glory.

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

The "largest bathroom stall in the world" offers a unique pit-stop experience.

These sculptures were created by a 17th-century artist who had never seen an elephant.

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

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

This small park holds what remains of a former prison and execution ground.

Access to this hidden site of a 14th-century mass suicide is prohibited, unless it is to pray for the dead.

The birthplace of Japanese coinage.

A statue meant to celebrate peace has also been interpreted as a mother taking away her son's internet privileges.

Stretching for 22 miles, the world's longest tree-lined avenue dates back to the early 17th-century.

A shrine dedicated to the sacred white snakes of Iwakuni, whose albinism has been passed down for generations.

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

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

A sad reminder of the World War II bombing stands largely unnoticed on a street corner.

More than 300 years old, Kyoto's historic "teahouse" still operates as an invitation-only geisha club.

The remains of the vast manor that once belonged to Lord Kira, villain in the 47 Ronin story, is now a shrine dedicated to the incident.

A cursed torii gate still stands on the edge of Haneda Airport, decades after its shrine's relocation.

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

This often-overlooked monument was crafted in the shape of the iconic samurai coin to honor an Edo-period mint.