Places pleiades Wants to Go

Roots and stumps that lay inundated for two millennia are on display in Japan's city of three mysteries.

A moss-covered statue of a Japanese Buddhist deity stands at a quiet temple in downtown Osaka.

An astounding annual light display honors the victims of one of Japan's most devastating earthquakes.

A disconnected rotary phone for "calling" lost loved ones offered a unique way of dealing with grief in disaster-stricken Japan.

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

Japan's largest area of "pink moss" turns the hillside bright pink every spring.

Abandoned Japanese ghost town gives a glimpse into what our own metropolises may leave behind.

One of the first hotel rooms in a pod.

Shells collected from over a hundred different countries line the walls, floors and ceilings of this fantasy museum.

Starship-temple contains 400 tons of drinking water and offers free Japanese lessons.

Meet the world's longest tapeworm in a collection that really gets under your skin.

Steaming blood-red hot spring from hell.

This pond is so stunning it looks like you've stepped into one of Monet's masterpieces.

A massive cave complex boasts some of the clearest water (and most charming bats) in the world.

Nine Gardens in one—with tea service.

This mesmerizingly colorful pond looks like a scene straight out of a fairytale.

This massive wooden building contains a giant Buddha, healing pillars, and tame deer wandering the grounds.

Experience park where visitors are told to expect the unexpected.

Every autumn, this hillside is ablaze with red summer cypress.

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

A tiny collection of traditional Japanese woodblock prints, open only when the owner feels like it.

This garden located inside a bamboo forest once belonged to a famous Japanese actor.

Established over a thousand years ago, this family-run teahouse continues to serve skewers of sweet rice cake to this day.

Giant art made in Japanese rice fields.