jonasgoessaert's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Loading map...
Kirishima, Japan

Sanada no Osada

According to Japanese mythology, the first rice paddy in history was created here many aeons ago.
Kagoshima, Japan

Deai-sugi Cedar Tree

This train station meeting spot is an actual, millennia-old tree from the island of Yakushima.
Hatsukaichi, Japan

Itsukushima Shrine

This Japanese national treasure was originally built in 593.
Hiroshima, Japan

Human Shadow Etched in Stone

An eerie reminder to the horrors of World War II.
Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima Peace Memorial

Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome.
Hiroshima, Japan

Orizuru Wall

This glass wall is gradually filling up with paper cranes, in honor of Hiroshima’s past and dedication to its future.
Tokyo, Japan

Moon Pine Tree

One of the top 100 sights of feudal Tokyo continues to impress those who visit the lesser temples of Ueno.
Tokyo, Japan

Akihabara Electric Town

Once a black market electronics marketplace, now an otaku shopper's paradise.
Tokyo, Japan

Hideyo Noguchi Statue

This site commemorates the life of a Japanese scientist who dedicated his life to the discovery of diseases.
Tokyo, Japan

Hachiko

After a profound show of devotion for his master, a dog becomes the symbol of loyalty for an entire nation.
Tokyo, Japan

Jimbōchō Book Town

A bibliophile's heaven that contains hundreds of bookstores, offering over a third of secondhand books for sale in Tokyo.
Copenhagen, Denmark

The Little Mermaid

The de facto symbol of Copenhagen is this bronze fairytale which cannot seem to keep its head for very long.
Exeter, England

Parliament Street

At just 25 inches at its narrowest point, it's one of the tightest streets in the world.
Exeter, England

House That Moved

Old Tudor home moved on thick iron rails to a new spot.
Brighton, England

Madeira Lift

Decrepit Victorian public lift is a white-knuckle ride.
Brighton, England

West Pier

The rotting skeleton of a shoreside fun fair that was destroyed by fire and storms still haunts the Brighton ocean view.
Palermo, Italy

Arabic Inscription of Palermo Cathedral

Why a column on the entrance is inscribed with a verse from the Quran is one of Sicily's many mysteries.
Palermo, Italy

The Martorana

This mosaic-lined medieval church was built by the world's first admiral and still holds mass in ancient Greek.
Cefalù, Italy

Lavatoio Medievale

A medieval wash house where people washed clothes in a river allegedly formed by the tears of a mourning nymph.
Cefalù, Italy

Aleister Crowley's Abbey of Thelema

Where Aleister Crowley taught magick in "La Chambre Des Cauchemars," his "Chamber of Nightmares."
Sciacca, Italy

Il Castello Incantato

A madman's personal garden filled with 1,000 sculpted heads.
Sortino, Italy

Necropolis of Pantalica

Thousands of rock-cut tombs fill the cliffs of this Sicilian nature preserve.
Realmonte, Italy

Scala dei Turchi

"Stairs of the Turks", a chalky white cliff eroded conveniently into stairs, allowing for easy pillaging.
Trapani, Italy

Borgo Amerigo Fazio

A never-inhabited village that was built as part of Mussolini's agricultural reforms.