Places Egao Wants to Go

This ordinary set of steps is a must-see destination for fans of a certain romantic anime.

The Buddhist temples of Yamadera, built into a mountain side, feature a viewing deck with sweeping views.

This town near Nagasaki is flecked with fruit-flavored bus stops.

Founded over a thousand years ago, this shrine is said to be built on the site of a warlord's harem prison.

A massive wintry wall of snow up to 66 feet tall flanks a highway through Japan's mountains.

Largest graveyard in all of Japan surrounds a famous mausoleum.

This ruined Japanese stripclub sits half burnt to the ground.

Each year this Japanese temple overflows with scowling, bearded good luck talismans.

One of the world's largest tanks mimics the experience of watching rare whale sharks, giant rays, and deep sea creatures from the ocean floor.

The divine septet of Japanese fortune gods are rendered in 1,000-year-old wood at this peaceful site.

Children's literature inside, forest all around.

Giant animal sculptures are created with the rice straw leftover from the fall harvest each year.

An unexpected curiosity cabinet hidden within a department store in the Japan Post tower.

A museum dedicated to the history of Tokyo's often-overlooked working-class district.

Giant sand sculptures of famous people and places are on display near the Tottori sand dunes.

This active volcano's siren song to suicide jumpers forced authorities to build a fence.

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

White beach sands made of the remains of tiny, star shaped creatures.

Inside the columbarium, thousands of colorful, high-tech Buddhas guard the ashes of the dead.

These Japanese gardens are blankets of light for dark winter nights.

A King Kong-like gorilla hangs from the top of this commercial building in Tokyo.

Crawl through the hole in the middle of this stone to break off a bad relationship or initiate a good one.

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

A shrine contains nearly 200 statues of the Buddhist deity Jizo, dressed in bibs by parents who have lost a child.