Places adrienneleighm Wants to Go

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

A Japanese corporation has turned this small island town into living modern art gallery.

A sculpture that resurrected the only tree standing following the devastating 2011 tsunami.

A calico cat named Tama was the wildly popular Super Station Master at this train stop in southeast Japan.

This ruined Japanese stripclub sits half burnt to the ground.

Largest graveyard in all of Japan surrounds a famous mausoleum.

The third-tallest statue in the world depicts the "Buddha of Infinite Light," complete with observation deck in his chest.

After a short 5 year run, this former major theme park sits in ruin.

The tallest bronze seated statue of the Buddha in Japan.

An unlikely hit, this museum is dedicated to the inventor of instant ramen and cup noodles.

The ruins of Japan’s premier water brothel.

Sulphuric gases inhabit a beautiful Japanese island.

Be a ninja - or just act like one.

A Buddhist temple to honor insects that died for science.

This Buddhist temple is home to the graves of the Japanese national legends, the 47 Ronin.

Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome.

A Japanese shrine to dolls.

Abandoned Japanese ghost town gives a glimpse into what our own metropolises may leave behind.

The Buddhist temples of Yamadera, built into a mountain side, feature a viewing deck with sweeping views.

Starship-temple contains 400 tons of drinking water and offers free Japanese lessons.

This pair of small sea rocks has been "wed" using rope and ancient Shinto tradition.

A failed Russian themed village and amusement park in Niigata prefecture.

Drinkslinger is an unlikely vocation for a Buddhist monk, but at this Tokyo bar the enlightenment is served in a martini glass.

Okinawan dining in a twenty foot tall, man-made tree house overlooking Naha Harbor.