This Kyoto Starbucks takes coffee drinkers back in time.

Blowtorches, tuna, and a jolly, chain-smoking proprietor mark this beloved street-food stand.

This bar is filled with Star Wars merchandise from around the world, all of it unlicensed knockoffs.

More than 300 years old, Kyoto's historic "teahouse" still operates as an invitation-only geisha club.

This 14th-century temple is also known as the "Temple of the Golden Pavilion" for its gorgeous gilded reliquary hall.

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

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

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

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

The demolished ruins of a poorly located Japanese Love Hotel.

This battleship of a building was designed by a famed "mad architect."

This iconic sluice gate is a favorite haunt for joggers, fishing enthusiasts, and even ghost hunters.

This shrine dedicated to a legendary swordsman has become a pilgrimage site for the ill and infirmed.

Tokyo’s only Ainu restaurant serves Indigenous food from northern Japan.

Disaster prevention apartment blocks in Sumida Ward are designed to save as many as possible in the face of the inevitable.

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

It's bad manners to eat and drink on the subways of Tokyo, unless the train is this bar. 

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

This tiny museum hidden above a restaurant houses thousands of modern and traditional kites.

This ordinary set of steps is a must-see destination for fans of a certain romantic anime.

A cool dive bar, off the beaten track.

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

A railway station takeout shop sells boxed meals in containers shaped like trains and snowmen that hold the country’s abundant regional delicacies.

This sprawling scenic burial ground is the final resting place of Japan's last shogun.