Composed of scrap metal, a pair of platform-length murals chronicle Japan’s history, from the Big Bang to the development of modern Tokyo.

These wondrously illuminated caverns extend under the mountains of the Fukushima Prefecture.

Curious onlookers have suspected this strange structure is a secret government base.

The train engine is tucked under an apartment building on a quiet Tokyo street.

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

This giant seated Bhudda of Healing dates to the 1780s.

This little town supplies Japan with most of its calligraphy brushes, still made by hand from animal fur.

This incredible mountainside temple is home to intriguing statues of demon-like creatures.

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

One of the tallest statues in the world, and the tallest statue of a goddess in Japan.

A moss-covered statue of a Japanese Buddhist deity stands at a quiet temple in downtown Osaka.

One of the world's largest ancient burial mounds.

For hundreds of years, participants in this Japanese festival have been making babies cry to ward off demons.

Burial mound for the ears and noses of thousands of mutilated Korean soldiers.

These Japanese gardens are blankets of light for dark winter nights.

A rare festival blending religion, blacksmiths, vagina dentata, sex workers, and the straight-up facts of life.

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