Experience park where visitors are told to expect the unexpected.

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

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

A train ride to the middle of nowhere gives its passengers some of the most iconic views of Japan's seasons.

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

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

The sound of swaying stalks in this stunning grove has been named a governmentally recognized sound.

Run a wash cycle while sipping a latte at this community-oriented café.

Losing lottery tickets are deposited at this shrine in hopes of better luck.

Dedicated to the armor and weapons used by the legendary Japanese warriors.

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

Serving you alcohol with a side of insanity. Also, costumes!

A railway station takeout shop sells boxed meals in containers shaped like trains and snowmen that hold the country’s abundant regional delicacies.

Tokyo’s only Ainu restaurant serves Indigenous food from northern Japan.

A bronze statue dating back as far as 1252, still has remnants of gold on its right cheek from ancient gilding.

Transport yourself to the 1980s era of video games at this themed restaurant and bar.

A restaurant modeled after feudal Japan, where the waitstaff are trained as ninjas.

A beautiful bamboo trail tucked in this famous Japanese Shrine.

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

Once a black market electronics marketplace, now an otaku shopper's paradise.

Colloquially known as “piss alley,” this narrow street filled with tiny bars and barbecue stands looks like it was pulled straight out of “Blade Runner.”

A 70-foot-deep ice cave formed by lava from Mt. Fuji on the edge of Japan's "Suicide Forest." 

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

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