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

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

The statue's head is one of the few fragments of the original Urakami Cathedral to survive the atomic bomb.

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

An eerie reminder to the horrors of World War II.

Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome.

A plaque marks the site directly below the mid-air detonation of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima.

Burial mound for the ears and noses of thousands of mutilated Korean soldiers.

This 14th-century temple is also known as the "Temple of the Golden Pavilion" for its gorgeous gilded reliquary hall.

Crawl through the hole in the middle of this stone to break off a bad relationship or initiate a good one.

The cutest shrine in Kyoto is dedicated to bunnies.

A shrine contains nearly 200 statues of the Buddhist deity Jizo, dressed in bibs by parents who have lost a child.

This Kyoto Starbucks takes coffee drinkers back in time.

The 10,000 Torii shrine.

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

This 700-year-old street food market features baby octopus and soy donuts.

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

A beautiful bamboo trail tucked in this famous Japanese shrine.

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

The sound of swaying stalks in this stunning grove has been named a governmentally recognized sound.

This temple is home to a group of Buddha statues made from thousands of bones and ashes of the deceased.

The Hanshin Expressway goes right through its 5th, 6th, and 7th floors.

Devoted Buddhists can earn enlightenment in the next life by crawling through this symbolic nostril.

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