Hanging over one of Japan's "hidden valleys," these vine bridges must be remade every three years.

The 10,000 Torii shrine.

A Buddhist temple to honor insects that died for science.

Unusual hexagonal rocks formed by cooling lava named for their resemblance to traditional Japanese tatami mats.

A steaming, boiling hellscape sources Hokkaido's thermal baths.

This “peasant café” in the middle of Tokyo re-creates the atmosphere of the Japanese countryside.

This phallic temple was erected in the forest to honor the tragic death of a samurai lord's son.

A park built around the legend of a clam-loving giant who created a monumental midden.

Take a few seconds to look at this abandoned, art-filled station as you pass by on the subway to Ueno.

Narrow passes cut out of mountains surround the medieval capital of Japan.

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

These seven moai figures are the world's only sanctioned replicas of the Easter Island originals.

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

A mysterious set of tunnels carved in the hills of rural northern Kyushu.

One of the largest producers of MSG in the world welcomes visitors to its Kawasaki factory with an albino panda named Aji-Kun.

A statue erected on an infamous cliff where young boys would hold dangerous "pee offs" to prove their mettle.

A sculpture that resurrected the only tree standing following the devastating 2011 tsunami.

This mountain's identity is stuck somewhere between a nightmare and a scenic tourist attraction.

The ruin of a Japanese love hotel almost completely overgrown with brambles.

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

A cool dive bar, off the beaten track.

An infamous house made famous by director Takashi Shimizu.

Founded over a thousand years ago, this shrine is said to be built on the site of a warlord's harem prison.

Children's literature inside, forest all around.