Places johntheriel Wants to Go

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

A museum dedicated to the history of Tokyo's often-overlooked working-class district.

Discover the past, present, and future of packaging in this unique Japanese museum.

A Buddhist temple to honor insects that died for science.

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

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

Meet the world's longest tapeworm in a collection that really gets under your skin.

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

Stuck in a bygone era, the oldest subterranean shopping street in Japan hides beneath the popular Asakusa district of Tokyo.

The bartenders at this crime-fighting theme cafe are actual private detectives by day.

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

This sprawling scenic burial ground is the final resting place of Japan's last shogun.

Shrine to Japanese water-goblins, complete with their preserved body parts.

This Buddhist temple is home to the graves of the Japanese national legends, the 47 Ronin.

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

If Hello Kitty were Mickey Mouse, this would be Disneyland.

The legendary birthplace of the Japanese maneki-neko is dotted with hundreds of lucky beckoning cats.

This unusual "magical shrine" honors a legendary raccoon-dog god that stowed away to Japan from some far-off land.

A rare example of an ancient Japanese hill castle believed to be the fortress of a legendary demon.

This enormous "shamoji" means more to the people of Miyajima than just a way getting rice onto a plate.

This little town supplies Japan with most of its calligraphy brushes, still made by hand from animal fur.

A thick blanket of beautiful pampas grass cloaks this unique Japanese landscape.

This glass wall is gradually filling up with paper cranes, in honor of Hiroshima’s past and dedication to its future.

A mountaintop Buddhist temple with panoramic views of Hiroshima.