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

The 10,000 Torii shrine.

1,001 carved statues of the Buddhist God of Mercy, each with a unique face.

The quintessential Japanese rock garden has existed for more than 500 years.

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

One of Kyoto's oldest food establishments has supplied soba noodles to temple priests and the Imperial Palace.

A beautiful bamboo trail tucked in this famous Japanese Shrine.

This neighborhood thoroughfare is haunted by dozens of homemade monsters.

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

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

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

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

Handmade treasures from around the world.

Every Sunday, this Thai temple in Berkeley serves a backyard brunch.

This restaurant offers the original California cuisine.

Every color in the rainbow awaits.

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

Drinkslinger is an unlikely vocation for a Buddhist monk, but at this Tokyo bar the enlightenment is served in a martini glass.

A Catholicism-themed restaurant where sacrilege is on the menu.

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.”

This subterranean spot might be the epitome of Japan's baroque, retro coffee houses.

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

A cool dive bar, off the beaten track.

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