A series of smile-themed sculptures created by artists from all over the world fill this Tokyo shopping district.

The largest of its kind in Japan, this century-old wasabi farm is also known for its appearance in an Akira Kurosawa film.

A bovine sumo match in which both bulls live to fight another day.

This giant statue pays homage to this temple's furry residents who keep the landscape pristine.

The last remaining predreadnought battleship in the world has been a museum for nearly a century.

This infamous execution site inspired the beginning of Japan's modernization in the late 18th-century.

These unconventional "tub boats" let locals row around the island's turbulent coast.

This massive, beautifully-lit underground quarry leaves visitors in awe.

Steampunk, humanoid sculptures crawl on all fours in a Tokyo plaza.

Founded in 1880, this humble brewery still practices a disappearing technique of sake-making.

This iconic sluice gate is a favorite haunt for joggers, fishing enthusiasts, and even ghost hunters.

Although it has never been a secret ninja base, this shrine still has plenty of tricks up its sleeve.

Visitors to this museum will discover that kaleidoscopes are much more than toys.

This little town supplies Japan with most of its calligraphy brushes, still made by hand from animal fur.

The only Edo-period ferry that is still in operation in Tokyo today.

The floats housed in this hall are more than 100 years old, and are brought out for an annual celebration.

One in a pair of subterranean caves created by an ancient eruption of Mount Fuji.

This museum is dedicated to the cultural history of tobacco and salt, once monopolized in Japan.

Watch out for the two-story Godzilla made out of tires.

This 400-year-old sweet shop serves a delicacy some have described as "edible incense."

These wondrously illuminated caverns extend under the mountains of the Fukushima Prefecture.

A sculpture that resurrected the only tree standing following the devastating 2011 tsunami.

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

Stuck in a bygone era, the oldest subterranean shopping street in Japan hides beneath the popular Asakusa district of Tokyo.