Places ktknoll Wants to Go

This century-old electronics store-turned-cafe serves comforting, retro fare.

This sculpture bears a tragic backstory that may have inspired a hauntingly beautiful children's song.

This unassuming office building is home to what was once the world's largest pendulum clock.

This atmospheric pre-war building is home to one of the few manually operated elevators left in Tokyo.

A precursor to Taro Okamoto’s iconic Tower of the Sun.

A small laundromat covered wall-to-ceiling with portrait drawings.

Guarding the city of Chiyoda is a bizarre insectile creature with a name no one can pronounce.

In Asakusa, Tokyo's very own Walk of Fame.

A series of smile-themed sculptures created by artists from all over the world fill this Tokyo shopping district.

A miniature shrine in the busy corner of Tokyo's historic Broadway, honoring a sextet of unusual entertainment gods.

A hidden gallery exhibits intricate, decades-old Buddhist reliefs.

Home to a legend of the supernatural raccoon dog, a rare wooden structure of Edo, and witnesses of the Tokyo bombings.

Rice balls symbolize fate and relationship at this adorable shrine, which was once dedicated to the Buddhist Devil.

This park boasts a unusual collection of curious monuments from around the world, from Micronesia to Antarctica.

A statue meant to celebrate peace has also been interpreted as a mother taking away her son's internet privileges.

A lonely chimpanzee lures you into a narrow alley leading to this hidden shrine.

This quirky collection of furniture also happens to be a public art installation.

This cozy café is housed in a repurposed pharmacy originally built in 1927.

This abandoned, spaceship-like building is home to a museum so unpopular that it has been put on hiatus for over two decades.

Composed of scrap metal, a pair of platform-length murals chronicle Japan’s history, from the Big Bang to the development of modern Tokyo.

Disaster prevention apartment blocks in Sumida Ward are designed to save as many as possible in the face of the inevitable.

Next door to Tokyo DisneySea is a giant sculpture created by Taro Okamoto symbolizing the dynamism of life.

Tragic reminders of the 1945 firebombing campaign over Tokyo still haunt this bridge.

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