Places RakelOm Wants to Go

The floats housed in this hall are more than 100 years old, and are brought out for an annual celebration.

A monk-run winery inside a Buddhist temple celebrates Japan's crown grape varietal.

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

When this clock strikes a certain time, puppets showcase a story of life in Edo Japan.

A strange tribute to all the fallen souls of war.

What's believed to be the country's first shrine is, in Shintō mythology, the annual meeting place of the gods.

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

Hidden by the roadside in the Iya Valley, this gem brings together folk monsters and the region's unique geography.

This Japanese Manneken Pis gets new outfits for every occasion.

Existing for more than four centuries, the last of Hakone’s historic teahouses serves a sweet, mold-based rice drink.

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

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

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

Founded over a thousand years ago, this shrine is said to be built on the site of a warlord's harem prison.

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

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

The cutest shrine in Kyoto is dedicated to bunnies.

One of Kyoto's oldest food establishments has supplied soba noodles to temple priests and the Imperial Palace.

A bibliophile's heaven that contains hundreds of bookstores, offering over a third of secondhand books for sale in Tokyo.

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

A train ride to the middle of nowhere gives its passengers some of the most iconic views of Japan's seasons.

Tokyo’s only Ainu restaurant serves Indigenous food from northern Japan.

The bartenders at this crime-fighting theme cafe are actual private detectives by day.

Transport yourself to the 1980s era of video games at this themed restaurant and bar.