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

A bibliophile's heaven that contains hundreds of bookstores, offering over a third of secondhand books for sale in Tokyo.

A flight of this "ghost staircase" has 40 steps on the way up, but only 39 steps on the way down.

An unexpected curiosity cabinet hidden within a department store in the Japan Post tower.

A museum dedicated to the history of Tokyo's often-overlooked working-class district.

The freshest fish here are the ones you catch yourself.

Kawaii meets poisonous at this unique art gallery.

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

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

The sound of swaying stalks in this stunning grove has been named a governmentally recognized sound.

This whimsical garbage disposal facility receives around 12,000 accidental tourists each year.

A moss-covered statue of a Japanese Buddhist deity stands at a quiet temple in downtown Osaka.

This brothel-turned-restaurant features plenty of surprises and elaborate, extravagant architecture.

Japan's first automaton went missing, only to be revived by the Osaka Science Museum.

One of the first hotel rooms in a pod.

Surreal giant face-pillars welcome visitors from across the globe to this hotel.

Luxury hotel turned into a refugee camp, then turned back into a luxury hotel.

This extensive collection of dead bugs may be the world's most idiosyncratic and personal insect museum.

The original "capsule building" is a masterpiece of Metabolist architecture.

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

Japanese island famous for poison gas and fluffy bunnies.

After a profound show of devotion for his master, a dog becomes the symbol of loyalty for an entire nation.

A remarkable lava formation encloses a line of Buddhist statues that can't be accurately counted, according to local mythology.

This collection of over 50 murals celebrates Brussels' rich history as the self-proclaimed home of the "comic strip."