Places Alpy Wants to Go

A beautiful bamboo trail tucked in this famous Japanese shrine.

The quintessential Japanese rock garden has existed for more than 500 years.

This historical theme park celebrates all things noodle.

This spa theme park lets its guests take a dip in pools of coffee, wine, or ramen broth.

Shrine to Japanese water-goblins, complete with their preserved body parts.

Transport yourself to the 1980s era of video games at this themed restaurant and bar.

1,001 carved statues of the Buddhist God of Mercy, each with a unique face.

Hanging over one of Japan’s “hidden valleys,” these vine bridges must be remade every three years.

Tokyo’s only Ainu restaurant serves Indigenous food from northern Japan.

Every autumn, this hillside is ablaze with red summer cypress.

This massive wooden building contains a giant Buddha, healing pillars, and tame deer wandering the grounds.

Go through the looking glass in Tokyo's Wonderland-themed shop.

Experience park where visitors are told to expect the unexpected.

Twelve hundred stone carvings guard this off-the-beaten-path Buddhist temple.

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

Once the most densely populated place in the world, this island is now a ghost town.

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

The magical, mossy forest that inspired 'Princess Mononoke.'

A beautiful, dense forest in the shadow of Mount Fuji, with a tragic reputation.

Hot springs monkey spa in the middle of Hell's Valley.

If Hello Kitty were Mickey Mouse, this would be Disneyland.

The 10,000 Torii shrine.

This neighborhood thoroughfare is haunted by dozens of homemade monsters.

The legendary birthplace of the Japanese maneki-neko is dotted with hundreds of lucky beckoning cats.