Places gwenleif Wants to Go

A rare festival blending religion, blacksmiths, vagina dentata, sex workers, and the straight-up facts of life.

The 43-mile route crosses through six islands with gorgeous views of the Seto Inland Sea.

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

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

A 70-foot-deep ice cave formed by lava from Mt. Fuji on the edge of Japan's "Suicide Forest." 

This 700-year-old street food market features baby octopus and soy donuts.

The magical, mossy forest that inspired 'Princess Mononoke.'

The oldest hotel in the world has been operated by the same family for over 1,300 years, even catering to samurai.

This museum inside a museum tells the story of London's timepieces.

Brass cobblestones mark the places where individual Holocaust victims were taken from their homes.

A small etching on the white marble parapet was written in runic script by a Viking mercenary.

This 11th-century temple gave rise to the word "juggernaut," as well as some mysteries that defy scientific explanation.

The South African dialect's complex history is immortalized in stone, in one of the world's only monuments dedicated to a language.

A medieval church built up to defend its village.

Local legend has it that the first humans were created in the pools here, leaving their footprints behind in the rock.

Folklore says this medieval fortress was plopped atop a portal to hell to trap the demons below.

This enchanting hill is home to fairy lore and a sinister local mystery.

Local lore says a serpent-like beast lurks in the deep basin below the falls.

The highest tides in the world come in and out here twice a day, allowing you to essentially walk along the ocean floor.

An ancient instrument used to measure the waters of the Nile so Egyptian farmers would know whether to expect famine or flood.

A bronze statue dating back as far as 1252, still has remnants of gold on its right cheek from ancient gilding.

Water of undetermined depth has attracted rare fish and cult leaders alike.

This grove of ghostly cedars was killed in 1700 by an enormous tsunami, felt from the United States to Japan.

Stone slabs along the coast warn of Japan's tsunami-ravaged past, often marking the highest point of a wave's reach.