Miyakonojo, Japan
Ame no Sakahoko
This mythical weapon stuck on the mountaintop is also the site of the first honeymoon in Japan's history.
Places Barker Wants to Go
20
Places I want to go
Places on this traveler's wishlist.
Tokyo, Japan
Shirahige-Higashi Firewall Apartment Complex
Disaster prevention apartment blocks in Sumida Ward are designed to save as many as possible in the face of the inevitable.
Nagasaki, Japan
Gunkanjima Island
Once the most densely populated place in the world, this island is now a ghost town.
Washington, D.C.
Reading Room at the Folger Shakespeare Library
Home to a vast and influential collection of Shakespeareana.
Washington, D.C.
Lincoln Book Tower
A three-story tower of books about Abraham Lincoln is one of the more unusual monuments to the president.
Washington, D.C.
Theodore Roosevelt Island
The national park was once a plantation estate.
Washington, D.C.
Holt House
There's a crumbling old mansion inside the Smithsonian National Zoo.
Washington, D.C.
The Mutilated Currency Division
An obscure public service from the U.S. government that redeems burnt, moldy, and soiled old greenbacks.
Washington, D.C.
The Mary Surratt Boarding House
The house where John Wilkes Booth conspired with his co-conspirators.
Washington, D.C.
Rockefeller Mansion in Rock Creek Park
This leafy estate is worth $18 million and is so grand it has two mailing addresses.
Washington, D.C.
Tudor Place
A historic estate packed with George Washington's heirlooms, and its own nuclear bunker.
Washington, D.C.
National Building Museum
Fittingly, America's museum of architecture is itself a magnificently designed old building.
Washington, D.C.
Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
A lovely aquatic park built by a one-armed Civil War veteran who made a fortune from lotuses.
Washington, D.C.
Lincoln Memorial Undercroft
A cavernous three-story, 43,800-square-foot basement that was forgotten about for 60 years.
Washington, D.C.
FBI Spy House
A painfully obvious spy house sits right across the street from the Russian Embassy.
Washington, D.C.
The Old Patent Model Museum
During the Industrial Revolution this “Temple of Invention” was full of intricate miniature machines and gadgets.
Washington, D.C.
Catacombs of Washington, D.C.
Franciscan monks created a facsimile of the Holy Land for North Americans who couldn’t afford the trip overseas.
Washington, D.C.
Riggs Library
A wondrous old library overlooking the nation's capital.
Washington, D.C.
National Bonsai Museum
One of the dwarven trees dates back to 1625 and survived the Hiroshima bombing.
Washington, D.C.
International Spy Museum
Home to items never before seen by the public.
