It is said that coins washed in the waters here will miraculously multiply.

Only the face remains of this giant Buddha statue, which is said to be a source of luck for students.

Its collection distills more than 60 years of pop culture in Japan, from Godzilla to Hulk Hogan.

This snack factory boasts several tributes to its popular line of rice crackers, including a quasi-shrine.

Inspired by the famous sculptures on Easter Island, this head serves as a popular meeting spot by Shibuya Station.

An eerie reminder to the horrors of World War II.

Kawaii meets poisonous at this unique art gallery.

Nope, not the one in France. The only officially-recognized reproduction of Monet’s garden in Giverny is located in a remote corner of Japan.

A train ride to the middle of nowhere gives its passengers some of the most iconic views of Japan's seasons.

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

Near the mouth of the Yodo River, this museum offers visitors six floors of hands-on learning about Osaka's raw sewage.

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

This Japanese Manneken Pis gets new outfits for every occasion.

Watch out for the two-story Godzilla made out of tires.

Hidden by the roadside in the Iya Valley, this gem brings together folk monsters and the region's unique geography.

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

Existing for more than four centuries, the last of Hakone’s historic teahouses serves a sweet, mold-based rice drink.

A quaint amusement park now sits, rusting and forgotten among the foliage.

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

The cutest shrine in Kyoto is dedicated to bunnies.

This exacting restaurant will charge a fine for every grain of rice you've left behind.

Japan's largest collection of Western-style mansions in the port city of Kobe includes a recreation of Sherlock Holmes' 221B Baker Street quarters.

"Bug Bug" Land, a natural park for beetle watching, still hasn't fully recovered from Fukushima's nuclear disaster.

You can still find treasures on the pebbly beaches of one of the world's oldest jade-producing areas.