According to local legend, elderly villagers were once brought to this hill and left to die.

Visitors are encouraged to fish for water goblins at this haunted pool.

Legend says that a swarm of centipedes and snakes once crawled out of the tomb of this cursed princess.

According to local folklore, a demon left his handprints on these boulders, which became the prefecture’s namesake.

A rare surviving set of early 17th-century bronze finials remain on this bridge.

A 360-year-old cherry tree grows out of a granite boulder.

A fantastical glow-in-the-dark mural inspired by the city’s most famous writer, Kenji Miyazawa.

A long-forgotten homage to an eldritch, sassy spider yōkai that was once worshipped here as a god.

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

Established in 1950, this humble burger joint is the oldest surviving one in Japan.

This fortress was built using the last surviving stones from the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Showcasing some of the best-preserved temples of the Champa Kingdom.

A sacred place for ascetic training, set in a honeycomb-walled cliffside cave deep in the woods.

A quartet of temple guardian statues that allegedly cry at night for being forbidden from wrestling.

Local legend claims that this is the final resting place of an infamous cannibal hag.

A bizarre trio of potato-like stone people represents the dynamism of city life

A disused, crumbling 110-year-old theater retains the authentic retro charms of Showa-era cinema.

In the hometown of Eiji Tsuburaya, a street lined with intergalactic heroes and monsters.

A small, family-friendly museum dedicated to the “god of special effects” who brought Godzilla to life.

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

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

One of the tallest statues in the world, and the tallest statue of a goddess in Japan.

These tiny pine-covered islands have inspired art and poetry for centuries.

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