Places Damstockings Wants to Go

The famed natural wonder that gave its name to a fishcake as well as one of the most popular anime series of all time.

A sacred place for ascetic training, set in a honeycomb-walled cliffside cave deep in the woods.

One of Japan’s oldest and largest cherry trees is said to have been planted by an ancient, heroic prince.

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

Home to a garden of poisonous plants and the only legal cannabis and opium farms in Tokyo.

Cute manhole covers commemorate the hometown of the real-life Ash Ketchum who created Pokémon.

They say the internet is forever but just in case, the shiba inu behind an iconic meme has been immortalized in bronze.

More than 100 antique vending machines housed in a used tire shop sell everything from candy to sake and ramen.

A lone torii arch stands on a coastal rock where a deity is said to have landed.

One of the top 100 sights of feudal Tokyo continues to impress those who visit the lesser temples of Ueno.

A wooden prison doesn't sound like a good idea, yet this abandoned 1950s detention center still stands today.

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

This quirky collection of furniture also happens to be a public art installation.

The largest archaeological site from the Yayoi period.

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

Once the main gateway to Tokyo, sneaking through this checkpoint was a capital offense in feudal times.

This bathhouse includes an option to soak in radioactive water.

This giant seated Bhudda of Healing dates to the 1780s.

Only recently added to the shrine, this googly-eyed snail demon of unknown origin is said to have eye-healing powers.

One in a pair of subterranean caves created by an ancient eruption of Mount Fuji.

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

One of the tallest statues in the world, and the tallest statue of a goddess in Japan.

Narrow passes cut out of mountains surround the medieval capital of Japan.

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