Places vveracarvalhocosta Wants to Go

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

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

You can still find treasures on the pebbly beaches of one of the world's oldest jade-producing areas.

For hundreds of years, participants in this Japanese festival have been making babies cry to ward off demons.

A flight of this "ghost staircase" has 40 steps on the way up, but only 39 steps on the way down.

The largest volcanic caldera in Japan holds an entire city in its maw.

A mysterious set of tunnels carved in the hills of rural northern Kyushu.

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

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

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

A few hidden stones are said to bring fortune and love.

Nestled in an unassuming residential area, this "forbidden forest" is rumored to spirit away those who dare enter it.

An abandoned Art Deco hotel nestled on the side of a wooded mountain.

Elaborate series of tunnels where traces of mass suicide are still visible.

Make your own fake treats at this factory and workshop in the epicenter of Japan's food replica industry.

A quaint amusement park now sits, rusting and forgotten among the foliage.

Mythical beasts symbolizing the city of Tokyo guard a historic bridge.

The traditional houses along the coast of this charming Japanese fishing village allow people to sleep above the sea.

Approximately 300 million years ago, a massive coral reef existed in what is now the largest limestone cave in Japan.

Existing for more than four centuries, the last of Hakone’s historic teahouses serves a sweet, mold-based rice drink.

A network of sandy streets lined with verdant fukugi trees weaves throughout this tiny seaside town.

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

Ever needed a chocolate-filled crepe in the wee hours of the morning?

Hidden by the roadside in the Iya Valley, this gem brings together folk monsters and the region's unique geography.