Places isabelleryann Wants to Go

A King Kong-like gorilla hangs from the top of this commercial building in Tokyo.

This adorable birdlike police box is designed based on a play on words.

A few hidden stones are said to bring fortune and love.

An ordinary pond with fish from out of this world.

A restaurant modeled after feudal Japan, where the waitstaff are trained as ninjas.

A giant robo-cockroach building devours Tokyo.

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

Inside the columbarium, thousands of colorful, high-tech Buddhas guard the ashes of the dead.

Discover the mummified remains of Ancient Egypt in the middle of metropolitan Tokyo.

Losing lottery tickets are deposited at this shrine in hopes of better luck.

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

Sidle into a side alley for a taste of sumo wrestlers' traditional hot-pot soup, in a tiny restaurant founded by a former competitor.

Tatar Russian in origin, the largest mosque in Japan is now an Ottoman-style Turkish culture center.

Go through the looking glass in Tokyo's Wonderland-themed shop.

Only recently added to the shrine, this googly-eyed snail demon of unknown origin is said to have eye-healing powers.

Tokyo’s only Ainu restaurant serves Indigenous food from northern Japan.

Dedicated to the armor and weapons used by the legendary Japanese warriors.

Not quite the menace it once was, this monster still has some chops.

Colloquially known as “piss alley,” this narrow street filled with tiny bars and barbecue stands looks like it was pulled straight out of “Blade Runner.”

Sample specialties from Xinjiang at this Shinjuku neighborhood gem.

The tallest city hall in the world offers an excellent bento box.

This seemingly random 30-foot statue of an oryx in Qatar's capital was a mascot for the 2006 Asian Games.

Fourteen sculptures showing the development of a fetus stand outside a hospital for women and children.

The enormous diamond-shaped building packs a trove of academic and literary treasures into one futuristic space.