Places gwenleif Wants to Go

An oddly touching memorial to a little-remembered nuclear tragedy.

Shrine to Japanese water-goblins, complete with their preserved body parts.

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

After a profound show of devotion for his master, a dog becomes the symbol of loyalty for an entire nation.

Drinkslinger is an unlikely vocation for a Buddhist monk, but at this Tokyo bar the enlightenment is served in a martini glass.

Museum showcases Japanese sexuality and some amazing ocean views.

Legend holds eating just one of these black eggs can add seven years to one's life.

This giant bronze Buddha, the third largest in Japan, is the last in an ill-fated series of statues.

Bioluminescent firefly squid light up this Japanese fishing port.

A magical place that lets you play in and explore the world of Studio Ghibli.

A beautiful, dense forest in the shadow of Mount Fuji, with a tragic reputation.

Macabre astrological automaton clock dating to the late 1400s.

A clock designed to run with perfect accuracy for 10,000 years.

The old Niles Canyon Aqueduct in the San Francisco Bay Area is a bemusing and secret trail through nature for wayward travelers.

Home to the infamous "Typhoid Mary" and the worst loss of life in New York's history prior to September 11, 2001.

This dramatic sea spire is home to the world's rarest insect and is part of the lost continent of Zealandia.

Real bones which are said to have belonged to a Polish dragon.

A museum built around a bus-sized fossil on the side of the highway.

A town church once nearly submerged by the damming of a river is now hauntingly visible as the water recedes.

Highly unusual subterranean stupa and adjacent cave monastery.

Amazing and mysterious Neolithic settlement on Scotland's Orkney Islands.

This hunter-gatherer architecture is believed to be the oldest religious complex known.

The largest stone moai on Rapa Nui.

Between Neo-Pagans and Neo-Nazis, these strange rock formations have a curious cult following and a very strange history.