Places Cakebrains Wants to Go

This ancient temple is set up to take you on a pilgrimage of self.

This 24-hour vending machine serves up homemade treats inspired by the local Japanese snow monkeys.

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

Nine healing baths available only to those who stay in this quaint town, said to have inspired 'Spirited Away.'

Marvel at the world's largest collection of jellyfish, including more than 10,000 undulating moon jellies.

A massive cave complex boasts some of the clearest water (and most charming bats) in the world.

This ancient burial site was once thought to be the home of a race distinctive to Ainu folklore.

This massive, beautifully-lit underground quarry leaves visitors in awe.

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

A touching statue dedicated to Japan's first therapy dog.

A bibliophile's heaven that contains hundreds of bookstores, offering over a third of secondhand books for sale in Tokyo.

An oddly touching memorial to a little-remembered nuclear tragedy.

Japan’s tallest Godzilla statue contains a piece of the original 1954 film within its base.

Unbeknownst to most passersby, this marble statue standing outside an office building is a genuine piece of second-century Rome.

Overlooked by many, this tiny sacred island in Ueno Park only opens to the public every 12 days.

Tokyo’s “Kitchen Town” hosts a number of shops selling intricate food replicas.

A tiny street lined with eleven distinct Tanuki statues, each representing a different wish.

Stuck in a bygone era, the oldest subterranean shopping street in Japan hides beneath the popular Asakusa district of Tokyo.

Home to a legend of the supernatural raccoon dog, a rare wooden structure of Edo, and witnesses of the Tokyo bombings.

A hole-in-the-wall antiquities museum in one of Tokyo's most popular megamalls.

People from around the world visit the shrine of Japan’s legendarily loyal dog.

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

Not quite the menace it once was, this monster still has some chops.

The tallest city hall in the world offers an excellent bento box.