This village is home to the largest existing settlement of the Ainu, the Indigenous people of Japan.

Unbeknownst to most passersby, this marble statue standing outside an office building is a genuine piece of second-century Rome.

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

This water goblin statue represents a 19th-century urban legend about a haunted canal that became a Japanese idiom.

This futuristic public park includes large sculptures and an artificial geyser.

This quirky little private museum is home to more than a thousand stones, carved by nature, that resemble human faces.

A collection of the specialized tools used to construct Japan’s beautiful architecture.

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

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

The world's longest tunnel with an undersea section.

These Japanese ruins have been brought back to life with elaborately recreated buildings.

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

A Japanese shrine to dolls.

Shrine dedicated to boars that is believed to cure foot and leg injuries.

A small Japanese village claims to be the final resting place of the son of God (and God's other son's ear).

This giant bronze Buddha, the third largest in Japan, is the last in an ill-fated series of statues.

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

The ruins of Japan’s premier water brothel.

White beach sands made of the remains of tiny, star shaped creatures.

Be a ninja - or just act like one.

This subterranean spot might be the epitome of Japan's baroque, retro coffee houses.

Closed for decades, this strange symbol of Japan's Expo '70 has finally opened its psychedelic insides to the public.

This active volcano's siren song to suicide jumpers forced authorities to build a fence.

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