A total of 999 stairs lead visitors through a massive hole in a mountain known as the Gateway to Heaven.

The most famous location in China was home to whole dynasties worth of imperial rulers.

This abandoned fishing settlement may well be the greenest village in the world.

This vertical pinnacle in China was the inspiration for the floating mountains in the movie “Avatar.”

Over 40 species of fern cover the canyon walls of this lush green bowl, cut off from the bustle of the world by a cave entrance.

A World War II battle site made famous by one man's heroic actions.

Would you spend the night in Japan's deepest train station?

Exploring crime and punishment in feudal and pre-modern Japan.

Believed to hold the remains of Japan's most infamous fox spirit, this stone is said to kill those who dare approach.

Nope, not the one in France. The only officially-recognized reproduction of Monet’s garden in Giverny is located in a remote corner of Japan.

An eerie reminder to the horrors of World War II.

The Yonaguni Monument, a natural formation or the Japanese Atlantis?

One of the tallest statues in the world, and the tallest statue of a goddess in Japan.

An eerie maze of industrial factories looks like something out of a dystopian sci-fi.

Ever needed a chocolate-filled crepe in the wee hours of the morning?

This mountain's identity is stuck somewhere between a nightmare and a scenic tourist attraction.

A sobering scientific reminder of the human damage caused by the advent of the nuclear age.

Elaborate series of tunnels where traces of mass suicide are still visible.

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

Make your own fake treats at this factory and workshop in the epicenter of Japan's food replica industry.

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

A flight of this "ghost staircase" has 40 steps on the way up, but only 39 steps on the way down.

Be a ninja - or just act like one.

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