sawilliams's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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New Orleans, Louisiana

Lakefront Airport

This Art Deco airport was once deemed “the air hub of the Americas.”
Stomoplo, Bulgaria

Perla 2

Not far from a popular beach, an unfinished, abandoned mansion for Bulgaria's last communist dictator.
Tokyo, Japan

Site of Suzugamori Execution Grounds

A site where ten to twenty thousand Edo-era prisoners were put to death.
Ashland, Pennsylvania

Big Mine Run Geyser

The only geyser in the state of Pennsylvania is caused by pressure from an abandoned coal mine outside of the ghost town Centralia.
Athens, Ohio

Athens Lunatic Asylum

An abandoned asylum incorporated into a college campus.
Sagunt, Spain

Blast Furnace No. 2

The last of three massive blast furnaces that were once at the foundation of the Port of Sagunto economy.
Forks, Washington

Kalaloch Tree of Life

This large Sitka spruce that appears to be floating in mid-air, has defied logic for years.
Easdale Island, Scotland

World Stone Skimming Championship

Every September, international competitors flock to a tiny Scottish island's flooded quarries.
Nagasaki, Japan

Gunkanjima Island

Once the most densely populated place in the world, this island is now a ghost town.
Tokyo, Japan

Meguro Parasitological Museum

Meet the world's longest tapeworm in a collection that really gets under your skin.
Nara, Japan

Tōdai-ji Daibutsuden (The Great Buddha Hall)

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

Shiratani Unsuikyo Ravine

The magical, mossy forest that inspired Princess Mononoke.
Tokyo, Japan

The Giant Ghibli Clock

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

Ghibli Museum

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

Ko Hin-Ngam

The cursed island of black pebbles.
Bangkok, Thailand

Cabbages & Condoms

A condom-covered Thai restaurant that is more concerned with birth control than food.
Pattaya, Thailand

Sanctuary of Truth

A modern temple with an ancient philosophy.
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Elephant Nature Park

Thailand's distressed elephants find peace at this Chiang Mai sanctuary.
ambon Kalai, Thailand

Ko Ta Pu (James Bond Island)

A tall karst islet popularized by 007.
Sam Roi Yot, Thailand

Phraya Nakhon Cave

At the right time of day, sunlight floods through the roof of this cave and illuminates the small pavilion hidden within.
Kyoto, Japan

Remains of Rajōmon Gate

The site where the famous city gate once stood, now in the middle of a playground.
Sado, Japan

Aikawa Prison

A wooden prison doesn't sound like a good idea, yet this abandoned 1950s detention center still stands today.
Mine, Japan

Akiyoshido Cave

Approximately 300 million years ago, a massive coral reef existed in what is now the largest limestone cave in Japan.
Tamura, Japan

Abukuma-do Caves

These wondrously illuminated caverns extend under the mountains of the Fukushima Prefecture.