This exacting restaurant will charge a fine for every grain of rice you've left behind.

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

More tin toys than you can shake a clapping monkey at.

A small Japanese village claims to be the final resting place of the son of God (and God's other son's ear).

The largest collection of model trains in the world is actually run using full-size locomotive technology.

The world's shortest escalator doesn't seem to have any reason to exist other than to hold a world record.

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

For hundreds of years, participants in this Japanese festival have been making babies cry to ward off demons.

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

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

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

A tiny collection of traditional Japanese woodblock prints, open only when the owner feels like it.

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

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

A disconnected rotary phone for "calling" lost loved ones offered a unique way of dealing with grief in disaster-stricken Japan.

An unlikely hit, this museum is dedicated to the inventor of instant ramen and cup noodles.

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

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.

This isolated Japanese mountain village untouched by time showcases unique and stunning traditional architecture.

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

With over 12,000 different species of plants, this botanical garden is Japan's oldest and most diverse.

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

This mesmerizingly colorful pond looks like a scene straight out of a fairytale.