Disaster prevention apartment blocks in Sumida Ward are designed to save as many as possible in the face of the inevitable.

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

A collection of more than 1,000 teddies from nearly any profession.

Rows of stone statues are dressed up to mourn children that are lost before birth.

This subterranean spot might be the epitome of Japan's baroque, retro coffee houses.

This little known mountain has claimed four times as many lives as Everest.

This adorable birdlike police box is designed based on a play on words.

After being lost for decades, this striking mural depicting the atomic bomb covers the wall of a busy Tokyo metro station.

A King Kong-like gorilla hangs from the top of this commercial building in Tokyo.

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

450 dead and frozen fish, proudly on display in Japan.

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

An unexpected curiosity cabinet hidden within a department store in the Japan Post tower.

The largest of the Fuji Five Lakes is home to an impressive swan population—some real, some with paddles, and one with an observation deck.

A massive wintry wall of snow up to 66 feet tall flanks a highway through Japan's mountains.

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

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

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

This little replica of Lady Liberty provides a bit of NYC in a Japanese city.

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

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

A rare festival blending religion, blacksmiths, vagina dentata, sex workers, and the straight-up facts of life.

This pond is so stunning it looks like you've stepped into one of Monet's masterpieces.

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