Places Jay Braun Wants to Go

This traditional Japanese-style house doubles as one of James Turrell's colorful works of art.

A dilapidated amusement park with a million-dollar view.

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

The ruin of a Japanese love hotel almost completely overgrown with brambles.

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

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

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

A shrine contains nearly 200 statues of the Buddhist deity Jizo, dressed in bibs by parents who have lost a child.

A tiny collection of traditional Japanese woodblock prints, open only when the owner feels like it.

A remarkable lava formation encloses a line of Buddhist statues that can't be accurately counted, according to local mythology.

This sawtooth mountain range still bears the strangely lovely marks of its history as a medieval quarry.

A disconnected rotary phone for "calling" lost loved ones offered a unique way of dealing with grief in disaster-stricken Japan.

A steaming, boiling hellscape sources Hokkaido's thermal baths.

This ancient temple is set up to take you on a pilgrimage of self.

This pair of small sea rocks has been "wed" using rope and ancient Shinto tradition.

Abandoned Japanese ghost town gives a glimpse into what our own metropolises may leave behind.

Coast along one of Japan’s mountain railways for coveted views of magnificent hydrangeas.

Starship-temple contains 400 tons of drinking water and offers free Japanese lessons.

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

This isolated Japanese mountain village untouched by time showcases unique and stunning traditional architecture.

Steaming blood-red hot spring from hell.

Reportedly 1,400 years old, this may be the first of the Fiji Mermaids.

This pond is so stunning it looks like you've stepped into one of Monet's masterpieces.

The self-mummified monks of Japan.