Legend says the goddess this shrine honors curses any couples that pass by.

After being lost for decades, this striking mural depicting the atomic bomb covers the wall of a busy Tokyo metro station.

A statue of a mischievous raccoon towers over this city park.

Japan's largest area of "pink moss" turns the hillside bright pink every spring.

A collection of more than 1,000 teddies from nearly any profession.

Constructed thousands of years ago, these stone circles offer incredible insight into the lives of the people who built them.

This historic hydroelectric power plant in Japan has been preserved and is open to the public.

Birthplace of the Tendai sect and home to the marathon monks.

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

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

The floats housed in this hall are more than 100 years old, and are brought out for an annual celebration.

"Singing sands" and the world's largest hourglass reside near Japan's Kotogahama beach.

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

Cherry blossom season comes early in this Japanese town where pink flowers line the streets and riverbanks.

An abandoned giant glass dome sits in the bay in “the Venice of the East.”

Giant animal sculptures are created with the rice straw leftover from the fall harvest each year.

One of the largest producers of MSG in the world welcomes visitors to its Kawasaki factory with an albino panda named Aji-Kun.

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

A statue erected on an infamous cliff where young boys would hold dangerous "pee offs" to prove their mettle.

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

The bartenders at this crime-fighting theme cafe are actual private detectives by day.

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.

A giant robo-cockroach building devours Tokyo.

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