Places AdOYo Wants to Go

These ordinary blocks of stone are the last surviving remains of Tokyo's infamous red-light district.

This mythical weapon stuck on the mountaintop is also the site of the first honeymoon in Japan's history.

This snack factory boasts several tributes to its popular line of rice crackers, including a quasi-shrine.

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

A kitsch shrine dedicated to the ogre-slaying folktale hero born from a peach.

One of the few surviving World War II-era air-raid shelters in Tokyo.

A sad reminder of the World War II bombing stands largely unnoticed on a street corner.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

The site of a famous samurai duel.

A unique Shinto shrine filled with bunnies and wordplay.

Is this cat asleep or just pretending?

Inaccessible by foot, Japan's most secluded train station sits in the middle of nowhere.

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

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

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

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

Designed by a computer, this intricate network of fluorescent green pipes has taken over a subway station.

At a Japanese train station, a goddess emerges from a dumpling.

This giant statue pays homage to this temple's furry residents who keep the landscape pristine.

These unconventional "tub boats" let locals row around the island's turbulent coast.

Visitors to this park are welcomed by an ancient Japanese megalithic tomb that dates back to the sixth century.

Mythical beasts symbolizing the city of Tokyo guard a historic bridge.

This tiny stone in a children's park is what remains of an ancient, once-worshipped object.

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