Places meltingknight Wants to Go

This temple is steeped in local folklore involving a teakettle and a raccoon dog.

These Japanese ruins have been brought back to life with elaborately recreated buildings.

An eerie maze of industrial factories looks like something out of a dystopian sci-fi.

"Bug Bug" Land, a natural park for beetle watching, still hasn't fully recovered from Fukushima's nuclear disaster.

This exacting restaurant will charge a fine for every grain of rice you've left behind.

A derelict New Zealand-themed amusement park in Japan.

An anthropological theme park that depicts the cultures of around 20 different countries.

The Yonaguni Monument, a natural formation or the Japanese Atlantis?

A small Japanese village claims to be the final resting place of the son of God (and God's other son's ear).

A small island with no monkeys but plenty of military ruins.

The world's shortest escalator doesn't seem to have any reason to exist other than to hold a world record.

This bridge is so steep it looks like a rollercoaster.

A strange tribute to all the fallen souls of war.

A sculpture that resurrected the only tree standing following the devastating 2011 tsunami.

This mountain's identity is stuck somewhere between a nightmare and a scenic tourist attraction.

This little replica of Lady Liberty provides a bit of NYC in a Japanese city.

Giant sand sculptures of famous people and places are on display near the Tottori sand dunes.

The third-tallest statue in the world depicts the "Buddha of Infinite Light," complete with observation deck in his chest.

This town near Nagasaki is flecked with fruit-flavored bus stops.

Children's literature inside, forest all around.

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

The Hanshin Expressway goes right through its 5th, 6th, and 7th floors.

An oddly touching memorial to a little-remembered nuclear tragedy.

The largest volcanic caldera in Japan holds an entire city in its maw.