The 43-mile route crosses through six islands with gorgeous views of the Seto Inland Sea.

A bibliophile's heaven that contains hundreds of bookstores, offering over a third of secondhand books for sale in Tokyo.

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

Established over a thousand years ago, this family-run teahouse continues to serve skewers of sweet rice cake to this day.

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

This pair of small sea rocks has been "wed" using rope and ancient Shinto tradition.

The world's largest drain sits below the city of Kasukabe, Japan.

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

Each year this Japanese temple overflows with scowling, bearded good luck talismans.

The largest volcanic caldera in Japan holds an entire city in its maw.

This ordinary set of steps is a must-see destination for fans of a certain romantic anime.

These Japanese gardens are blankets of light for dark winter nights.

The divine septet of Japanese fortune gods are rendered in 1,000 year old wood at this peaceful site.

This town near Nagasaki is flecked with fruit-flavored bus stops.

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

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

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

The traditional houses along the coast of this charming Japanese fishing village allow people to sleep above the sea.

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

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

A calico cat named Tama was the wildly popular Super Station Master at this train stop in southeast Japan.

A mysterious set of tunnels carved in the hills of rural northern Kyushu.

A quaint amusement park now sits, rusting and forgotten among the foliage.

An abandoned Art Deco hotel nestled on the side of a wooded mountain.