Places Egao Wants to Go

The oldest hotel in the world has been operated by the same family for over 1,300 years, even catering to samurai.

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

Enormous underground chamber built to detect 'ghost particles' of the universe.

High in the trees or suspended between cables, these surreal structures are the works of a unique Japanese architect.

The largest of the Fuji Five Lakes is home to an impressive swan population—some real, some with paddles, and one with an observation deck.

The world's largest drain sits below the city of Kasukabe, Japan.

Every color in the rainbow awaits.

A glimpse into life in 1830s Tokyo, back during the heyday of the Tokugawa shogunate.

A small museum in a ward on the east side of Tokyo showcases the works of one of Japan's greatest ukiyo-e artists.

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

Commemorating the Japanese migration to Peru, this statue has a sister standing across the Pacific.

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

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

With over 12,000 different species of plants, this botanical garden is Japan's oldest and most diverse.

Model trains whizz around an extensive room-sized diorama of Kyoto City.

This abandoned park is home to hundreds of stone statues ranging from humans to mystical beings.

This ancient, tranquil shrine is the birthplace of ema prayer boards and the Ushi-no-toki-mairi curse ritual.

This reconstructed castle was once the base of the “Devil King” who almost united the feudal warring states.

A Japanese fertility god in the shape of a large phallus.

Electricians pray for luck at this place where, according to legend, the god of thunder was once trapped.

Transport yourself to the 1980s era of video games at this themed restaurant and bar.

A mystical shrine dedicated to a forest that once covered the area and the legendary fox spirit who lived there.

A dramatic landscape of ancient lava, carved into hexagonal columns by nature itself.

This train station has no entrances or exits for pedestrians, and exists only to take advantage of the area’s view.