This ancient temple is set up to take you on a pilgrimage of self.

A real-life replica of a home from Hayao Miyazaki's beloved movie "My Neighbor Totoro."

A Japanese cat island also populated by the descendants of a band of banished samurai.

Shells collected from over a hundred different countries line the walls, floors and ceilings of this fantasy museum.

A Buddhist temple to honor insects that died for science.

Legend holds eating just one of these black eggs can add seven years to one's life.

The only thing sweeter than the potatoes is the canine proprietor of this roadside stall.

Reportedly 1,400 years old, this may be the first of the Fiji Mermaids.

The self-mummified monks of Japan.

Shrine to Japanese water-goblins, complete with their preserved body parts.

After a profound show of devotion for his master, a dog becomes the symbol of loyalty for an entire nation.

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

Japanese national treasure originally built in 593 CE.

The legendary birthplace of the Japanese maneki-neko is dotted with hundreds of lucky beckoning cats.

Not quite the menace it once was, this monster still has some chops.

This neighborhood thoroughfare is haunted by dozens of homemade monsters.

A 20-meter (65-foot) robot towers over Tokyo Bay.

Bioluminescent firefly squid light up this Japanese fishing port.

This massive wooden building contains a giant Buddha, healing pillars, and tame deer wandering the grounds.

This 700-year-old street food market features baby octopus and soy donuts.

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

If Hello Kitty were Mickey Mouse, this would be Disneyland.

Cabaret where the show girls are all androids, and the patrons couldn't be more pleased.

A taste of the macabre Tokyo's ritzy shopping district.