For hundreds of years, participants in this Japanese festival have been making babies cry to ward off demons.

A statue erected on an infamous cliff where young boys would hold dangerous "pee offs" to prove their mettle.

The largest of the Fuji Five Lakes is home to an impressive swan population—some real, some with paddles, and one with an observation deck.

A 59-ft. robot statue looks over the citizens of earthquake-ravaged Kobe.

Japan's largest area of "pink moss" turns the hillside bright pink every spring.

Giant animal sculptures are created with the rice straw leftover from the fall harvest each year.

Crawl through the hole in the middle of this stone to break off a bad relationship or initiate a good one.

Burial mound for the ears and noses of thousands of mutilated Korean soldiers.

This pond is so stunning it looks like you've stepped into one of Monet's masterpieces.

The ruin of a Japanese love hotel almost completely overgrown with brambles.

A shrine contains nearly 200 statues of the Buddhist deity Jizo, dressed in bibs by parents who have lost a child.

Thirty architectural gems from the 19th- and early 20th-century Tokyo were restored and relocated to this space.

Cherry blossom season comes early in this Japanese town where pink flowers line the streets and riverbanks.

This little replica of Lady Liberty provides a bit of NYC in a Japanese city.

Giant sand sculptures of famous people and places are on display near the Tottori sand dunes.

The divine septet of Japanese fortune gods are rendered in 1,000 year old wood at this peaceful site.

A disconnected rotary phone for "calling" lost loved ones offered a unique way of dealing with grief in disaster-stricken Japan.

This active volcano's siren song to suicide jumpers forced authorities to build a fence.

Twelve hundred stone carvings guard this off-the-beaten-path Buddhist temple.

Largest graveyard in all of Japan surrounds a famous mausoleum.

With over 12,000 different species of plants, this botanical garden is Japan's oldest and most diverse.

Unusual hexagonal rocks formed by cooling lava named for their resemblance to traditional Japanese tatami mats.

This mesmerizingly colorful pond looks like a scene straight out of a fairytale.

The Hanshin Expressway goes right through its 5th, 6th, and 7th floors.