This collection of lakeside pagodas and temples are flanked by giant lions, tigers, and dragons as well as their welcoming maws.

Enormous pendulum helps keep Taiwan's tallest building from swaying.

Memorial to the father of the Republic of China.

Historical Japanese-Dutch relations are honored with haunted rides and flower fields in this replica town.

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

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

This historical theme park celebrates all things noodle.

One of Japan's most famous sights, the bridge was originally built in 1673.

Japanese national treasure originally built in 593 CE.

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.

Children's literature inside, forest all around.

Museum dedicated to the largest battleship ever built.

The quintessential Japanese rock garden has existed for more than 500 years.

1,001 carved statues of the Buddhist God of Mercy, each with a unique face.

Devoted Buddhists can earn enlightenment in the next life by crawling through this symbolic nostril.

This massive wooden building contains a giant Buddha, healing pillars, and tame deer wandering the grounds.

The abandoned Japanese amusement park once loomed as a dystopian Disneyland.

Japan's largest collection of Western-style mansions in the port city of Kobe includes a recreation of Sherlock Holmes' 221B Baker Street quarters.

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

Closed for decades, this strange symbol of Japan's Expo '70 has finally opened its psychedelic insides to the public.

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

Unlikely place for krautrock legends to hang out.

Tokyo’s only Vaudeville-cuckoo clock–steampunk-Victorian curio cabinet time piece.

A bronze statue dating back as far as 1252, still has remnants of gold on its right cheek from ancient gilding.