Places bartholomej Wants to Go

Built after WWII, the observatory site for the University of Copenhagen exhibits once world-class instruments.

This striking pig statue was part of a 1993 guerilla art project against racism.

An extravagant western hotel where every floor is the "ground floor."

The cutest shrine in Kyoto is dedicated to bunnies.

The site where the famous city gate once stood, now in the middle of a playground.

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

A 1000-year-old shrine in Kyoto with a poorly planned sacred arch.

Established over a thousand years ago, this family-run teahouse continues to serve skewers of sweet rice cake to this day.

This kitsch-forward diner is dedicated to an almost-forgotten “one-cent” prototype of okonomiyaki.

This Kyoto Starbucks takes coffee drinkers back in time.

The first location of the eventual video game giant.

View Japan's most historic city from a cyberpunk walkway suspended 150 feet above the ground.

This quaint mountain pass with centuries-old cobblestones is known as Japan's steepest slope.

A strange tribute to all the fallen souls of war.

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

A moss-covered statue of a Japanese Buddhist deity stands at a quiet temple in downtown Osaka.

Perhaps the world's cheapest vending machines.

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

Visit a speakeasy-like indie cinema specializing in 16mm and 35mm films.

Over 40 species of fern cover the canyon walls of this lush green bowl, cut off from the bustle of the world by a cave entrance.

A museum dedicated to the least secret spy is actually an attempt to get Hollywood's attention.

A castle hand-built by a Spanish dreamer in the Australian tropical jungle.

This high-design church is made up of two dizzying spirals meant to evoke the weaving together of marriage.

Though it won't take you far, the wood train housed at this station is the last of its kind in Japan.