Places Pupuliini Wants to Go

These unconventional "tub boats" let locals row around the island's turbulent coast.

A wooden prison doesn't sound like a good idea, yet this abandoned 1950s detention center still stands today.

For centuries, this gold mine was the powerhouse behind the Tokugawa Shogunate.

This giant statue pays homage to this temple's furry residents who keep the landscape pristine.

The site of a prehistoric settlement spanning millennia, complete with a reconstructed timber circle.

Japan and South Korea both lay claim to islands inhabited by one woman.

"Singing sands" and the world's largest hourglass reside near Japan's Kotogahama beach.

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

This volcanic island in the Pacific just keeps growing and growing.

Ruins and statues dot the landscape of this tiny island rich with royal history.

This pair of small sea rocks has been "wed" using rope and ancient Shinto tradition.

Sulphuric gases inhabit a beautiful Japanese island.

A long-worshipped mountain, considered a "power spot" and suspected to be an ancient pyramid by some.

One of Japan’s oldest and largest cherry trees is said to have been planted by an ancient, heroic prince.

The oldest surviving stele in Japan is a personal dedication from a monk to his late mother.

A thousand figurines of Oshira-sama, a horse-loving goddess of silk, await wish-making worshippers.

According to local legend, elderly villagers were once brought to this hill and left to die.

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

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

Once considered a massive folly, this "miracle floodgate" saved its town from tsunami devastation in 2011.

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

Inaccessible by foot, Japan's most secluded train station sits in the middle of nowhere.

Learn about the indigenous people of Japan's northernmost islands.

The highest mountain in Hokkaido was the setting for one of Japan’s strangest unsolved mysteries.