Places hotpants038 Wants to Go

Giant sand sculptures of famous people and places are on display near the Tottori sand dunes.

These Japanese gardens are blankets of light for dark winter nights.

A flight of this "ghost staircase" has 40 steps on the way up, but only 39 steps on the way down.

The tallest bronze seated statue of the Buddha in Japan.

The largest volcanic caldera in Japan holds an entire city in its maw.

Historical Japanese-Dutch relations are honored with haunted rides and flower fields in this replica town.

These unique toilets feature transparent glass covered in PDLC film.

White beach sands made of the remains of tiny, star shaped creatures.

Closed for decades, this strange symbol of Japan's Expo '70 has finally opened its psychedelic insides to the public.

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

The Hanshin Expressway goes right through its 5th, 6th, and 7th floors.

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

It's bad manners to eat and drink on the subways of Tokyo, unless the train is this bar. 

Enormous underground chamber built to detect 'ghost particles' of the universe.

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

The world's largest drain sits below the city of Kasukabe, Japan.

We heard you like volcanoes so we put a volcano in your volcano so you can die for sure...

Crawl through the hole in the middle of this stone to break off a bad relationship or initiate a good one.

This 14th-century temple is also known as the "Temple of the Golden Pavilion" for its gorgeous gilded reliquary hall.

An astounding annual light display honors the victims of one of Japan's most devastating earthquakes.

Blowtorches, tuna, and a jolly, chain-smoking proprietor mark this beloved street-food stand.

Unusual hexagonal rocks formed by cooling lava named for their resemblance to traditional Japanese tatami mats.

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

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