Places NixOfNowhere Wants to Go

Japan's largest collection of Western-style mansions in the port city of Kobe includes a recreation of Sherlock Holmes' 221B Baker Street quarters.

This museum is dedicated to the cultural history of tobacco and salt, once monopolized in Japan.

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

One of the few surviving World War II-era air-raid shelters in Tokyo.

Narrow passes cut out of mountains surround the medieval capital of Japan.

An eerie reminder to the horrors of World War II.

A remote and slightly overgrown park filled with replicas of world landmarks.

Take a few seconds to look at this abandoned, art-filled station as you pass by on the subway to Ueno.

A dilapidated amusement park with a million-dollar view.

The giant figure on the back of this turtle-shaped temple actually hides a memorial pendulum.

These wondrously illuminated caverns extend under the mountains of the Fukushima Prefecture.

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

Mythical beasts symbolizing the city of Tokyo guard a historic bridge.

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

One of the tallest statues in the world, and the tallest statue of a goddess in Japan.

Devoted Buddhists can earn enlightenment in the next life by crawling through this symbolic nostril.

This high-design church is made up of two dizzying spirals meant to evoke the weaving together of marriage.

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

The iconic castle that withstood a magnitude 6.2 earthquake has become a symbol of resilience.

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

A quaint amusement park now sits, rusting and forgotten among the foliage.

An abandoned Art Deco hotel nestled on the side of a wooded mountain.

The traditional houses along the coast of this charming Japanese fishing village allow people to sleep above the sea.

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