Shrine dedicated to boars that is believed to cure foot and leg injuries.

More tin toys than you can shake a clapping monkey at.

450 dead and frozen fish, proudly on display in Japan.

A giant robo-cockroach building devours Tokyo.

A 59-ft. robot statue looks over the citizens of earthquake-ravaged Kobe.

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

Children's literature inside, forest all around.

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

Shells collected from over a hundred different countries line the walls, floors and ceilings of this fantasy museum.

An unlikely hit, this museum is dedicated to the inventor of instant ramen and cup noodles.

Go through the looking glass in Tokyo's Wonderland-themed shop.

A Japanese corporation has turned this small island town into living modern art gallery.

Once a black market electronics marketplace, now an otaku shopper's paradise.

A Buddhist temple to honor insects that died for science.

A massive cave complex boasts some of the clearest water (and most charming bats) in the world.

Reportedly 1,400 years old, this may be the first of the Fiji Mermaids.

Not quite the menace it once was, this monster still has some chops.

The legendary birthplace of the Japanese maneki-neko is dotted with hundreds of lucky beckoning cats.

Shrine to Japanese water-goblins, complete with their preserved body parts.

A 20-meter (65-foot) robot towers over Tokyo Bay.

This neighborhood thoroughfare is haunted by dozens of homemade monsters.

A 70-foot-deep ice cave formed by lava from Mt. Fuji on the edge of Japan's "Suicide Forest." 

This historical theme park celebrates all things noodle.

This spa theme park lets its guests take a dip in pools of coffee, wine, or ramen broth.