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

A solitary tree has grown up all alone on Lake Wānaka, backdropped by the beautiful Southern Alps.

The fading, forgotten remains of a once bright and booming factory.

The main gates have been locked since 1745 and will remain so until the Stuart Dynasty returns to the throne.

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

A statue meant to celebrate peace has also been interpreted as a mother taking away her son's internet privileges.

Where hikers on the Tecumseh Trail can exchange a dirty sock for a free geode.

Walrus skulls and narwhal bones were found here while excavating a 900-year old church.

An open-air sewer system that was covered piece-by-piece over 300 years.

This statue dedicated to the story of a Flemish boy and his dog was relatively obscure in Belgium, but a cult sensation in Japan.

This beloved marketplace mascot poops money and grants good luck.

Hike the unusual hoodoos and rock formations that form this little-known natural wonder.

These Bronze Age rock carvings are among the oldest in the region.

This gravestone and its inscription inspired a movement that has spanned generations and saved countless lives.

According to one legend, this bridge was crafted after monkeys formed a body-bridge across the gorge.

This quirky little private museum is home to more than a thousand stones, carved by nature, that resemble human faces.

Legend holds eating just one of these black eggs can add seven years to one's life.

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.

One in a pair of subterranean caves created by an ancient eruption of Mount Fuji.

A strange and ancient landscape hides the dark, cavernous remains of a 5,000-year-old flint mine.

A wonderfully preserved example of London's 1960s-style high-density, low-rise public housing.

This grassy, tree-lined hill shares a name with the much-loved novel that it inspired.

Starship-temple contains 400 tons of drinking water and offers free Japanese lessons.

A Buddhist temple to honor insects that died for science.