Thousands of members of one family rest in peace at Okinawa's largest community gravesite.

The oldest stone lion in Okinawa survived a major battle during World War II.

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

The magical, mossy forest that inspired 'Princess Mononoke.'

A mysterious set of tunnels carved in the hills of rural northern Kyushu.

Approximately 300 million years ago, a massive coral reef existed in what is now the largest limestone cave in Japan.

A whimsical museum dedicated to the mischievous kappa, a mythical cucumber-loving water sprite.

Over 40 species of fern cover the canyon walls of this lush green bowl, cut off from the bustle of the world by a cave entrance.

"The Dance of Fools" is Japan's largest dance festival.

A statue of a mischievous raccoon towers over this city park.

Nestled amid the trees lies an abandoned funicular railway that dates back to the 1920s.

The site of a prehistoric settlement spanning millennia, complete with a reconstructed timber circle.

The largest seated Buddha statue in Japan is the centerpiece of an abandoned complex in a quiet, seaside town.

An ingenious solution to a tricky engineering problem, this spiraling bridge takes drivers for a dizzying spin.

Once the most densely populated place in the world, this island is now a ghost town.

A sobering scientific reminder of the human damage caused by the advent of the nuclear age.

A hub of information on tropical diseases and their treatments.

The floats housed in this hall are more than 100 years old, and are brought out for an annual celebration.

Once a year, these 'visitor deities' chase away evil spirits with a phallic-shaped staff.

Locals have put a new makeup on this strange statue every year since they unearthed it.

This train station meeting spot is an actual, millennia-old tree from the island of Yakushima.

These seven moai figures are the world's only sanctioned replicas of the Easter Island originals.

Imitations of Chinese coins were minted here for foreign trade before Japan got its own currency.

According to Japanese mythology, the first rice paddy in history was created here many aeons ago.