A network of sandy streets lined with verdant fukugi trees weaves throughout this tiny seaside town.

This bridge is so steep it looks like a rollercoaster.

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

Founded over a thousand years ago, this shrine is said to be built on the site of a warlord's harem prison.

One of the world's largest tanks mimics the experience of watching rare whale sharks, giant rays, and deep sea creatures from the ocean floor.

A museum dedicated to the history of Tokyo's often-overlooked working-class district.

People from around the world visit the shrine of Japan’s legendarily loyal dog.

The Buddhist temples of Yamadera, built into a mountain side, feature a viewing deck with sweeping views.

Children's literature inside, forest all around.

Largest graveyard in all of Japan surrounds a famous mausoleum.

This ruined Japanese stripclub sits half burnt to the ground.

Be a ninja - or just act like one.

This Kyoto Starbucks takes coffee drinkers back in time.

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

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

This sprawling scenic burial ground is the final resting place of Japan's last shogun.

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

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

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

This sawtooth mountain range still bears the strangely lovely marks of its history as a medieval quarry.

A remarkable lava formation encloses a line of Buddhist statues that can't be accurately counted, according to local mythology.

An astounding annual light display honors the victims of one of Japan's most devastating earthquakes.

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

A steaming, boiling hellscape sources Hokkaido's thermal baths.