This kitsch-forward diner is dedicated to an almost-forgotten “one-cent” prototype of okonomiyaki.

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

Open-air museum with an elaborate sculpture garden, stretching for over 70,000 square-meters.

It is said that coins washed in the waters here will miraculously multiply.

Narrow passes cut out of mountains surround the medieval capital of Japan.

If Hello Kitty were Mickey Mouse, this would be Disneyland.

Nestled in an unassuming residential area, this "forbidden forest" is rumored to spirit away those who dare to enter.

This historical theme park celebrates all things noodle.

A charming, homemade vending machine dispenses burgers and sandwiches at this hole-in-the-wall bakery.

Rubbing salt on this small stone dog is said to make wishes come true.

A magical place that lets you play in and explore the world of Studio Ghibli.

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

After a profound show of devotion for his master, a dog becomes the symbol of loyalty for an entire nation.

A Buddhist temple to honor insects that died for science.

A 17th-century Shinto shrine that is home to statues of Mickey Mouse and Pikachu.

This tiny museum hidden above a restaurant houses thousands of modern and traditional kites.

A flight of this "ghost staircase" has 40 steps on the way up, but only 39 steps on the way down.

Once a black market electronics marketplace, now an otaku shopper's paradise.

This Buddhist temple is home to the graves of the Japanese national legends, the 47 Ronin.

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

Tell this pair of "love-inviting" cats in Ginza your romantic hopes.

Unbeknownst to most passersby, this marble statue standing outside an office building is a genuine piece of second-century Rome.

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

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