Places hymeneinstein Wants to Go

A statue erected on an infamous cliff where young boys would hold dangerous "pee offs" to prove their mettle.

This exacting restaurant will charge a fine for every grain of rice you've left behind.

Birthplace of the Tendai sect and home to the marathon monks.

"Singing sands" and the world's largest hourglass reside near Japan's Kotogahama beach.

Roots and stumps that lay inundated for two millennia are on display in Japan's city of three mysteries.

This bridge is so steep it looks like a rollercoaster.

The largest of the Fuji Five Lakes is home to an impressive swan population—some real, some with paddles, and one with an observation deck.

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

A small island with no monkeys but plenty of military ruins.

This giant seated Bhudda of Healing dates to the 1780s.

A small Japanese village claims to be the final resting place of the son of God (and God's other son's ear).

One of the largest producers of MSG in the world welcomes visitors to its Kawasaki factory with an albino panda named Aji-Kun.

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

The Yonaguni Monument, a natural formation or the Japanese Atlantis?

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

This high-design church is made up of two dizzying spirals meant to evoke the weaving together of marriage.

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

Founded over a thousand years ago, this shrine is said to be built on the site of a warlord's harem prison.

One of the world's largest ancient burial mounds.

This town near Nagasaki is flecked with fruit-flavored bus stops.

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

Giant art made in Japanese rice fields.

450 dead and frozen fish, proudly on display in Japan.

Modern Japanese museum is buried by snow annually.