The oldest academic institution in Japan provides a glimpse of university life during the days of the samurai.

This ancient burial cave along a roadside is also home to several Buddhist sculptures.

A culturally significant rural temple in the beautiful mountains of Itoshima.

Access to this hidden site of a 14th-century mass suicide is prohibited, unless it is to pray for the dead.

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

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

An eerie reminder to the horrors of World War II.

Once the main gateway to Tokyo, sneaking through this checkpoint was a capital offense in feudal times.

Existing for more than four centuries, the last of Hakone’s historic teahouses serves a sweet, mold-based rice drink.

Huts like this were once a hub for the female divers who collected pearls and seafood off Japan's coasts.

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

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.

This shrine dedicated to a legendary swordsman has become a pilgrimage site for the ill and infirmed.

This tiny stone in a children's park is what remains of an ancient, once-worshipped object.

A rare example of an ancient Japanese hill castle believed to be the fortress of a legendary demon.

This mysterious medieval grotto holds a grid of sacred wells of unknown purpose.

A collection of the specialized tools used to construct Japan’s beautiful architecture.

Tokyo’s only Ainu restaurant serves Indigenous food from northern Japan.

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

A whimsical museum dedicated to the mischievous kappa, a mythical cucumber-loving water sprite.

Approximately 300 million years ago, a massive coral reef existed in what is now the largest limestone cave in Japan.

Hidden by the roadside in the Iya Valley, this gem brings together folk monsters and the region's unique geography.

The cutest shrine in Kyoto is dedicated to bunnies.