Inside the columbarium, thousands of colorful, high-tech Buddhas guard the ashes of the dead.

Sidle into a side alley for a taste of sumo wrestlers' traditional hot-pot soup, in a tiny restaurant founded by a former competitor.

This museum is dedicated to the cultural history of tobacco and salt, once monopolized in Japan.

Near the mouth of the Yodo River, this museum offers visitors six floors of hands-on learning about Osaka's raw sewage.

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

This Kyoto Starbucks takes coffee drinkers back in time.

A real-life replica of a home from Hayao Miyazaki's beloved movie "My Neighbor Totoro."

Colloquially known as “piss alley,” this narrow street filled with tiny bars and barbecue stands looks like it was pulled straight out of “Blade Runner.”

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

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

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

This 700-year-old street food market features baby octopus and soy donuts.

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

These tiny book repositories are inspiring new readers across Northern Ireland.

A 200-year-old bar is all that remains of one Mississippi River town's rough-and-tumble past.

These roaring primates were considered a divine creature in the cosmology of the Maya.

These temples are among the oldest free-standing stone buildings in the world.

The eclectic seaside sanctuary caters to a rather fowl crowd.

The designated Jewish quarter in Fez dates back to the 15th century.

The courtyard of this small Marinid madrasa is a dazzling example of intricate Islamic architecture.

The oldest known university in the world is in Fez, Morocco.

Traditional 11th-century outdoor tannery.

The other side is actually green.

North Africa's first museum of its kind preserves the culture of Moroccan women and their artistic achievements.