Places deriverative Wants to Go

Access to this hidden site of a 14th-century mass suicide is prohibited, unless it is to pray for the dead.

The former home of queer novelist Yoshiya Nobuko memorializes her contributions to modern-day manga.

A bronze statue dating back as far as 1252, still has remnants of gold on its right cheek from ancient gilding.

This mysterious medieval grotto holds a grid of sacred wells of unknown purpose.

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

It is said that coins washed in the waters here will miraculously multiply.

Nestled among the bamboos in a temple complex, this art installation serves as a unique memorial to insects.

The preserved ruins of the Hōjō clan’s palatial estate, hidden in the basement of a tourist information center.

An eerie cluster of medieval cave-like tombs carved out of a cliff, hidden in a historic mountain pass.

Open since 1690, this former teahouse makes “strength mochi” based on the centuries-old recipe.

The legendary Japanese filmmaker’s tombstone is marked by a single letter meaning “nothing," and bottles of sake.

Home to 800-year-old zen basin, a 400-year-old pilgrim’s path, and a century-old industrial grotto.

A mountaintop shrine-temple guarded by a horde of half-demon priests.

These statues are dedicated to the damned souls of those executed centuries ago on the beautiful Yuigahama beach.

Once upon a time in Kamakura, a five-headed dragon fell in love with an Indian water goddess.

The alleged site of the months-long imprisonment of a Japanese prince.

An unassuming set of tiles next to a mailbox mark the former location of one of the most famous springs in the city.

Over 80 years old, this hand-dug tunnel is a Chinese-style portal to another world.

This frenetic mural recalls an annual festival that once took the city by storm.

Feast your eyes on the centuries-old statues of the judges of hell.

A mysterious, perhaps haunted plot of land, untouched by modern development.

In the former treasury of a popular temple, a rare sculptural depiction of Kannon’s diverse avatars.

Hike to a hidden medieval troglodyte necropolis.

This unassuming tunnel’s name recalls a storied "cat pond" that has now been lost.