Places vveracarvalhocosta Wants to Go

This massive, Edo Period, coin-shaped sand painting is believed to be a source of great luck.

It is rumored that if you spot this little golden frog hiding in plain sight, good luck will come your way.

A bizarre, tuberculosis sanatorium-themed café moonlighting as an underground art gallery.

An isolated "phantom bridge" doomed to crumble into ruin.

A pair of rivaling shrines dedicated to Lady Oiwa, the most famous vengeful ghost in Japan.

Thousands of foxes are said to gather and parade across the neighborhood of Ōji on New Year’s Eve.

A train station decorated by a giant replica of the ancient Shakōki-dogū figurine found in the area.

The birthplace of Japanese coinage.

This is no ordinary coffee chain outlet—it's an architectural masterpiece.

A natural wonder with mythological ties to the local Ainu tradition.

This shrine, built to protect against destructive waves, is home to two monumental lion heads.

The origin of this bizarre, ghostly idol is a local mystery, even to the temple it calls home.

For centuries, this gold mine was the powerhouse behind the Tokugawa Shogunate.

A unique shrine dedicated to the deified skull of a 17th-century Tokyo courtesan.

This iconic “station bento” comes in an earthenware pot you can take home and repurpose.

According to local legend, an ancient serial killer nicknamed the “Hag” once haunted this pond.

The tomb of an infamous chimeric monster whose corpse once washed ashore in Osaka.

This temple is home to a group of Buddha statues made from thousands of bones and ashes of the deceased.

Unchanged for decades, World War II-era bullet holes and nostalgic ghost signs still haunt this desolate train station.

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

Plagued with warts? Leave a frog at this small shrine in the city of Tosa, and you may be cured.

Marvel at the world's largest collection of jellyfish, including more than 10,000 undulating moon jellies.

Ward off bad luck and fill your bottle with "the most watery water" at this little roadside shrine in Yonezawa.

A natural resemblance of the monster of film lore.