Places CShigeoK Wants to Go

An ingenious solution to a tricky engineering problem, this spiraling bridge takes drivers for a dizzying spin.

Sidle into a side alley for a taste of sumo wrestlers' traditional hot-pot soup, in a tiny restaurant founded by a former competitor.

Legend says the goddess this shrine honors curses any couples that pass by.

Constructed thousands of years ago, these stone circles offer incredible insight into the lives of the people who built them.

This incredible mountainside temple is home to intriguing statues of demon-like creatures.

A statue of a mischievous raccoon towers over this city park.

A monk-run winery inside a Buddhist temple celebrates Japan's crown grape varietal.

Though technically an illegal structure, this eclectic DIY apartment complex is beloved by its residents.

When this massive wooden temple ran out of rope, they made one out of devotees' hair.

A 14th-century European chapel sticks out of the facade of a Japanese hotel.

These Japanese ruins have been brought back to life with elaborately recreated buildings.

A quaint amusement park now sits, rusting and forgotten among the foliage.

What's believed to be the country's first shrine is, in Shintō mythology, the annual meeting place of the gods.

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

A hub of information on tropical diseases and their treatments.

Japan's first automaton went missing, only to be revived by the Osaka Science Museum.

The world's longest tunnel with an undersea section.

Weighing nearly seven tons, this massive sculpture was carved out of 500-year-old wood and decorated with thousands of jewels.

The cutest shrine in Kyoto is dedicated to bunnies.

Blowtorches, tuna, and a jolly, chain-smoking proprietor mark this beloved street-food stand.

Turn around and stick your head between your legs for the best view of this tree-covered sandbar.

This bar is filled with Star Wars merchandise from around the world, all of it unlicensed knockoffs.

"Singing sands" and the world's largest hourglass reside near Japan's Kotogahama beach.

The floats housed in this hall are more than 100 years old, and are brought out for an annual celebration.