Japan's longest-running music festival takes place on an isolated butterfly-shaped island.

The hometown of a beloved manga artist created a treasure hunt for his popular ghostly characters.

This giant statue pays homage to this temple's furry residents who keep the landscape pristine.

At a Japanese train station, a goddess emerges from a dumpling.

This futuristic public park includes large sculptures and an artificial geyser.

Along the side of the road on a small Japanese island is an extensive garden of uniquely designed Shisa statues.

A giant rooftop ride with unbeatable views of Matsuyama city, the nearby mountain ranges, and the Inland Sea.

High in the mountains of Kochi Prefecture, a magnificent library designed by a world-famous architect.

A monk-run winery inside a Buddhist temple celebrates Japan's crown grape varietal.

Fans line up at the crack of dawn for a slurpy bowl of deliciousness at this noodle counter inside a factory.

A whimsical museum dedicated to the mischievous kappa, a mythical cucumber-loving water sprite.

A deserted island in southwest Japan that once sheltered persecuted Christians.

Museum dedicated to the largest battleship ever built.

Stone slabs along the coast warn of Japan's tsunami-ravaged past, often marking the highest point of a wave's reach.

The world's longest tunnel with an undersea section.

This enormous "shamoji" means more to the people of Miyajima than just a way getting rice onto a plate.

What's believed to be the country's first shrine is, in Shintō mythology, the annual meeting place of the gods.

Barbies stare from the walls, sit on the tables, and even pop out of cakes at this quirky cafe.

An ingenious solution to a tricky engineering problem, this spiraling bridge takes drivers for a dizzying spin.

One of the tallest statues in the world, and the tallest statue of a goddess in Japan.

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

This temple is steeped in local folklore involving a teakettle and a raccoon dog.

Though technically an illegal structure, this eclectic DIY apartment complex is beloved by its residents.

These Japanese ruins have been brought back to life with elaborately recreated buildings.