Places marilynljanes Wants to Go

Akureyri is home to an oversized can of one of Iceland's favourite beers.

Experience park where visitors are told to expect the unexpected.

A beautiful, dense forest in the shadow of Mount Fuji, with a tragic reputation.

For but one summer in 1975, this rural suburb became a busy tourist spot when a local girl claimed to have seen ghostly faces on an old stele.

This subway station is named after a local legend about supernatural dancing cats.

More than 100 antique vending machines housed in a used tire shop sell everything from candy to sake and ramen.

More tin toys than you can shake a clapping monkey at.

Home to herbal cosmetics, teas, and a unique set of dolls known as kitchen witches.

This retro izakaya street is a unique legacy of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Cute manhole covers commemorate the hometown of the real-life Ash Ketchum who created Pokémon.

A narrow, dead-end alley hides with a small fox shrine and the untold history of Yokohama's historic red-light district.

Curious onlookers have suspected this strange structure is a secret government base.

At this Neolithic site, the remains of ancient humans have been found alongside the bones of the toxic fugu pufferfish.

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

Home to a garden of poisonous plants and the only legal cannabis and opium farms in Tokyo.

An infamous house made famous by director Takashi Shimizu.

Passengers are not allowed to set foot outside this station, but you can still enjoy spectacular views of the sea from the platform.

Nestled in an unassuming residential area, this "forbidden forest" is rumored to spirit away those who dare enter it.

This historical theme park celebrates all things noodle.

Unchanged for decades, World War II-era bullet holes and nostalgic ghost signs still haunt this desolate train station.

This airy five-floor library and museum houses thousands of books and rotating exhibits on Japanese monsters and anime.

Just outside Tokyo, a 45-story-high observatory with a stunning view of Tokyo Skytree and Mount Fuji.

A bizarre object of worship believed to grant wishes to those who tie it up with a rope.

An adorable intake tower with a “witch hat” stands in the Edo River.