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

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

Oddly touching memorial to a little-remembered nuclear tragedy.

This little replica of Lady Liberty provides a bit of NYC in a Japanese city.

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

This pond is so stunning it looks like you've stepped into one of Monet's masterpieces.

Largest graveyard in all of Japan surrounds a famous mausoleum.

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

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

A remarkable lava formation encloses a line of Buddhist statues that can't be accurately counted, according to local mythology.

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.

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

A Catholicism-themed restaurant where sacrilege is on the menu.

The Hanshin Expressway goes right through its 5th, 6th, and 7th floors.

This sawtooth mountain range still bears the strangely lovely marks of its history as a medieval quarry.

Twelve hundred stone carvings guard this off-the-beaten-path Buddhist temple.

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.

Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome.

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

This ancient temple is set up to take you on a pilgrimage of self.