Places Elizabeth Gartley Wants to Go

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

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

Tokyo’s only Ainu restaurant serves Indigenous food from northern Japan.

A Buddhist temple to honor insects that died for science.

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

The legendary birthplace of the Japanese maneki-neko is dotted with hundreds of lucky beckoning cats.

Not quite the menace it once was, this monster still has some chops.

If Hello Kitty were Mickey Mouse, this would be Disneyland.

This massive wooden building contains a giant Buddha, healing pillars, and tame deer wandering the grounds.

The cutest shrine in Kyoto is dedicated to bunnies.

One of Kyoto's oldest food establishments has supplied soba noodles to temple priests and the Imperial Palace.

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

The 10,000 Torii shrine.

The sound of swaying stalks in this stunning grove has been named a governmentally recognized sound.

This neighborhood thoroughfare is haunted by dozens of homemade monsters.

The site where the famous city gate once stood, now in the middle of a playground.

The first location of the eventual video game giant.

Twelve hundred stone carvings guard this off-the-beaten-path Buddhist temple.

The Hanshin Expressway goes right through its 5th, 6th, and 7th floors.

Surreal giant face-pillars welcome visitors from across the globe to this hotel.

A moss-covered statue of a Japanese Buddhist deity stands at a quiet temple in downtown Osaka.

This human-made pond is part of a Korean palace complex first built in the 7th century.

This pagoda was once the central feature of a Buddhist temple that no longer exists.

A unique structure located on the grounds of one of five grand palaces that were built by the Joseon dynasty.