Places kitaageo Wants to Go

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

A natural wonder with mythological ties to the local Ainu tradition.

Hokkaido's largest music box museum, featuring music boxes that are unique in Japan and the world.

A tiny street lined with eleven distinct Tanuki statues, each representing a different wish.

Open 24 hours, this self-serve sandwich spot specializes in egg salad sandwiches in a land that takes them very seriously.

The world's largest permanent architectural projection display entertains audiences nightly with 28-story light shows.

A touching statue dedicated to Japan's first therapy dog.

Steampunk, humanoid sculptures crawl on all fours in a Tokyo plaza.

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

More than 300 years old, Kyoto's historic "teahouse" still operates as an invitation-only geisha club.

An enormous pair of straw sandals woven in the traditional way—to keep demons at bay.

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

Rubbing salt on this small stone dog is said to make wishes come true.

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

Hidden by the roadside in the Iya Valley, this gem brings together folk monsters and the region's unique geography.

Have a soak at this retro bathhouse, where you will find Japan's first electric bath, tiling from Spain, and wood carvings representing the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.

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

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

As the aging humans of this Japanese village die off one local artisan is replacing them with eerie homonculi.

This adorable birdlike police box is designed based on a play on words.

The divine septet of Japanese fortune gods are rendered in 1,000-year-old wood at this peaceful site.

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

The small candy-colored ride is the last rooftop Ferris wheel in Tokyo.

The first location of the eventual video game giant.