The site of Japan’s first archaeological excavation is also the birthplace of fingerprint forensics.

These sculptures were created by a 17th-century artist who had never seen an elephant.

According to one legend, this bridge was crafted after monkeys formed a body-bridge across the gorge.

One in a pair of subterranean caves created by an ancient eruption of Mount Fuji.

Open-air museum with an elaborate sculpture garden, stretching for over 70,000 square-meters.

Legend holds eating just one of these black eggs can add seven years to one's life.

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

Once the main gateway to Tokyo, sneaking through this checkpoint was a capital offense in feudal times.

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.

This sawtooth mountain range still bears the strangely lovely marks of its history as a medieval quarry.

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

A small island with no monkeys but plenty of military ruins.

A beautiful, dense forest in the shadow of Mount Fuji, with a tragic reputation.

Thirty architectural gems from the 19th- and early 20th-century Tokyo were restored and relocated to this space.

Legend says the goddess this shrine honors curses any couples that pass by.

A magical place that lets you play in and explore the world of Studio Ghibli.

Not quite the menace it once was, this monster still has some chops.

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

The legendary birthplace of the Japanese maneki-neko is dotted with hundreds of lucky beckoning cats.

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

This Japanese Manneken Pis gets new outfits for every occasion.

Rows of stone statues are dressed up to mourn children that are lost before birth.

After being lost for decades, this striking mural depicting the atomic bomb covers the wall of a busy Tokyo metro station.