Places MikeInSanFrancisco Wants to Go

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

Sidle into a side alley for a taste of sumo wrestlers' traditional hot-pot soup, in a tiny restaurant founded by a former competitor.

Make your own fake treats at this factory and workshop in the epicenter of Japan's food replica industry.

This bridge is so steep it looks like a rollercoaster.

After being lost for decades, this striking mural depicting the atomic bomb covers the wall of a busy Tokyo metro station.

This Japanese Manneken Pis gets new outfits for every occasion.

These unique toilets feature transparent glass covered in PDLC film.

The largest of the Fuji Five Lakes is home to an impressive swan population—some real, some with paddles, and one with an observation deck.

A museum of space exploration in the UFO capital of Japan.

As the aging humans of this Japanese village die off one local artisan is replacing them with eerie homonculi.

You can still find treasures on the pebbly beaches of one of the world's oldest jade-producing areas.

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

The small candy-colored ride is the last rooftop Ferris wheel in Tokyo.

Its collection distills more than 60 years of pop culture in Japan, from Godzilla to Hulk Hogan.

A collection of more than 1,000 teddies from nearly any profession.

The divine septet of Japanese fortune gods are rendered in 1,000-year-old wood at this peaceful site.

Each year this Japanese temple overflows with scowling, bearded good luck talismans.

The tallest city hall in the world offers an excellent bento box.

Kawaii meets poisonous at this unique art gallery.

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

This tiny museum hidden above a restaurant houses thousands of modern and traditional kites.

Weighing nearly seven tons, this massive sculpture was carved out of 500-year-old wood and decorated with thousands of jewels.

Historical Japanese-Dutch relations are honored with haunted rides and flower fields in this replica town.

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