Places Plerpo Wants to Go

Only recently added to the shrine, this googly-eyed snail demon of unknown origin is said to have eye-healing powers.

Not quite the menace it once was, this monster still has some chops.

Colloquially known as “piss alley,” this narrow street filled with tiny bars and barbecue stands looks like it was pulled straight out of “Blade Runner.”

According to local legend, anyone who falls on these temple steps will turn into a cat.

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

Legend holds eating just one of these black eggs can add seven years to one's life.

Open-air museum with an elaborate sculpture garden, stretching for over 70,000 square-meters.

A group of medieval rock-cut Buddhist statues created to save people from the volcanic hell that surrounds them.

The centuries-old cobblestones of a feudal highway remain in the woods of Hakone.

Once the main gateway to Tokyo, sneaking through this checkpoint was a capital offense in feudal times.

Coast along one of Japan’s mountain railways for coveted views of magnificent hydrangeas.

A beautiful bamboo trail tucked in this famous Japanese shrine.

The sound of swaying stalks in this stunning grove has been named a governmentally recognized sound.

A small shrine dedicated to a god of lightning and electronics.

The “bridge of return” is haunted by a myriad of legends, from ghosts to demons to nuptial superstitions.

Model trains whizz around an extensive room-sized diorama of Kyoto City.

A Japanese train station built around a 700-year-old camphor tree.

Visitors to this temple are greeted by a massive collection of wooden dolls said to bring good fortune.

Try maple leaf tempura at the trailside shop that brought it back from oblivion.

Perhaps the world's cheapest vending machines.

Japan's first automaton went missing, only to be revived by the Osaka Science Museum.

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

A rare north-facing Ksitigarbha statue enshrined in a passageway off Osaka’s busiest area.

This bar is filled with Star Wars merchandise from around the world, all of it unlicensed knockoffs.