Sidle into a side alley for a taste of sumo wrestlers' traditional hot-pot soup, in a tiny restaurant founded by a former competitor.

This little town supplies Japan with most of its calligraphy brushes, still made by hand from animal fur.

Legend says the goddess this shrine honors curses any couples that pass by.

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

Constructed thousands of years ago, these stone circles offer incredible insight into the lives of the people who built them.

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

When this massive wooden temple ran out of rope, they made one out of devotees' hair.

This little known mountain has claimed four times as many lives as Everest.

A 14th-century European chapel sticks out of the facade of a Japanese hotel.

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

The cutest shrine in Kyoto is dedicated to bunnies.

Weighing nearly 7 tons, this massive sculpture was carved out of 500-year-old wood and decorated with thousands of jewels.

Turn around and stick your head between your legs for the best view of this tree-covered sandbar.

You can still find treasures on the pebbly beaches of one of the world's oldest jade-producing areas.

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

Ruins and statues dot the landscape of this tiny island rich with royal history.

Nestled in an unassuming residential area, this "forbidden forest" is rumored to spirit away those who dare to enter.

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

A Japanese train station built around a 700-year-old camphor tree.

A Japanese shrine to dolls.

This ancient shrine has been rebuilt every 20 years since the eighth century.

Roots and stumps that lay inundated for two millennia are on display in Japan's city of three mysteries.

Shrine dedicated to boars that is believed to cure foot and leg injuries.

A small Japanese village claims to be the final resting place of the son of God (and God's other son's ear).