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

The hometown of a beloved manga artist created a treasure hunt for his popular ghostly characters.

A deserted island in southwest Japan that once sheltered persecuted Christians.

Stone slabs along the coast warn of Japan's tsunami-ravaged past, often marking the highest point of a wave's reach.

This enormous "shamoji" means more to the people of Miyajima than just a way getting rice onto a plate.

Elaborate series of tunnels where traces of mass suicide are still visible.

The largest of the Fuji Five Lakes is home to an impressive swan population—some real, some with paddles, and one with an observation deck.

Shells collected from over a hundred different countries line the walls, floors and ceilings of this fantasy museum.

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

An infamous house made famous by director Takashi Shimizu.

Daikon radishes are offered to the Japanese Buddhist counterpart of the Hindu god Ganesha at this historic hilltop temple.

A museum in Hokkaido is housed in a former high school. On its grounds a marker shares the awakening of a man who longs to be reunited with his soulmate in the fictional world of Kcymaerxthaere.

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

Oddly touching memorial to a little-remembered nuclear tragedy.

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

The 43-mile route crosses through six islands with gorgeous views of the Seto Inland Sea.

A bronze statue dating back as far as 1252, still has remnants of gold on its right cheek from ancient gilding.

This pond is so stunning it looks like you've stepped into one of Monet's masterpieces.