The mysterious, fantastical woodland inspiration for "The Lord of the Rings."

An infamous house made famous by director Takashi Shimizu.

"Bug Bug" Land, a natural park for beetle watching, still hasn't fully recovered from Fukushima's nuclear disaster.

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

Not quite the menace it once was, this monster still has some chops.

Japan's largest and oldest annual procession of floats, begun in 869.

A massive cave complex boasts some of the clearest water (and most charming bats) in the world.

The giant figure on the back of this turtle-shaped temple actually hides a memorial pendulum.

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.

Japan's first automaton went missing, only to be revived by the Osaka Science Museum.

We heard you like volcanoes so we put a volcano in your volcano so you can die for sure...

A 59-ft. robot statue looks over the citizens of earthquake-ravaged Kobe.

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

This giant seated Bhudda of Healing dates to the 1780s.

White beach sands made of the remains of tiny, star shaped creatures.

Modern Japanese museum is buried by snow annually.

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

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

This mountain's identity is stuck somewhere between a nightmare and a scenic tourist attraction.

The legendary birthplace of the Japanese maneki-neko is dotted with hundreds of lucky beckoning cats.

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

This giant bronze Buddha, the third largest in Japan, is the last in an ill-fated series of statues.

The third-tallest statue in the world depicts the "Buddha of Infinite Light," complete with observation deck in his chest.

Largest graveyard in all of Japan surrounds a famous mausoleum.