Places vveracarvalhocosta Wants to Go

This compact temple is filled with garlands of colorful balls that represent restrained monkeys.

According to local legend, anyone who falls on these temple steps will turn into a cat.

This volcanic island in the Pacific just keeps growing and growing.

One of the only two archaeological sites in Japan to feature petroglyphs, which some believe to be a long-lost writing system of the gods.

Unbeknownst to many, an ancient burial mound hides in plain sight in Ueno Park.

Various accidents and illnesses fell upon the developers who tried to remove these historic trees.

Overlooked by many, this tiny sacred island in Ueno Park only opens to the public every 12 days.

A bizarre object of worship believed to grant wishes to those who tie it up with a rope.

A museum in Hokkaido is housed in a former high school. On its grounds a marker shares the awakening of a man who longs to be reunited with his soulmate in the fictional world of Kcymaerxthaere.

This sculpture bears a tragic backstory that may have inspired a hauntingly beautiful children's song.

A 20,000-year-old fossilized forest is preserved at this unique museum.

Home to a garden of poisonous plants and the only legal cannabis and opium farms in Tokyo.

Once a huge limestone cave that collapsed thousands of years ago, this scenic ravine is also an important archaeological site.

Nine healing baths available only to those who stay in this quaint town, said to have inspired 'Spirited Away.'

A bizarre statue of a Buddhist goddess made from 20,000 insects.

The strange “kaiju” of Lake Imba that allegedly killed over a dozen men with a single strike of lightning.

An eerie cluster of medieval cave-like tombs carved out of a cliff, hidden in a historic mountain pass.

A collection of nearly 5,000 yokai-themed toys, sculptures, and more, dating from the 1700s to the present day.

An adorable intake tower with a “witch hat” stands in the Edo River.

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

A museum housed in a stunning Rockefeller-funded medical institute building from the 1930s.

This traditional Japanese shrine is dedicated to four Shinto deities.

A collection of nostalgic items from the Showa era with an exhibit on the local ghost story of the Snow Woman.

A tiny street lined with eleven distinct Tanuki statues, each representing a different wish.