Places JLowdown Wants to Go

Volcanic activity causes small pools of super-heated mud to boil furiously.

This sublime architectural marvel is a rare example of an expressionist church.

An unexpected curiosity cabinet hidden within a department store in the Japan Post tower.

Giant animal sculptures are created with the rice straw leftover from the fall harvest each year.

After being lost for decades, this striking mural depicting the atomic bomb covers the wall of a busy Tokyo metro station.

Two identical statues by Fernando Botero, one blown to pieces in a terrorist bombing, the other donated as a gift for peace.

The Andean town where every single building is decorated with a brightly colored frieze.

Japan's largest area of "pink moss" turns the hillside bright pink every spring.

The Buddhist temples of Yamadera, built into a mountain side, feature a viewing deck with sweeping views.

This mesmerizingly colorful pond looks like a scene straight out of a fairytale.

This sprawling bookstore spans four floors and has more than a million books in stock.

Thousands of artifacts tell Mongolia's military history, from the Bronze Age to the present.

Driftwood dinosaurs lurk within trees covered in a rainbow array of avian abodes.

The largest bottled beer collection in the world holds over 22,000 unique beer bottles.