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This strange mural located in the Ueno station is filled with traditional Japanese symbolism.

Rice balls symbolize fate and relationship at this adorable shrine, which was once dedicated to the Buddhist Devil.

This infamous execution site inspired the beginning of Japan's modernization in the late 18th-century.

Unbeknownst to most passersby, this marble statue standing outside an office building is a genuine piece of second-century Rome.

The only natural gorge in metropolitan Tokyo, with lots of greenery and ancient burial chambers.

A glimpse into life in 1830s Tokyo, back during the heyday of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Emerging from the sidewalk, this sculpture of a whale commemorates the importance of baleen in traditional Japanese puppetry.

Visitors to this park are welcomed by an ancient Japanese megalithic tomb that dates back to the sixth century.

Inspired by the famous sculptures on Easter Island, this head serves as a popular meeting spot by Shibuya Station.

A flight of this "ghost staircase" has 40 steps on the way up, but only 39 steps on the way down.

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.

Stuck in a bygone era, the oldest subterranean shopping street in Japan hides beneath the popular Asakusa district of Tokyo.

A touching statue dedicated to Japan's first therapy dog.

Steampunk, humanoid sculptures crawl on all fours in a Tokyo plaza.

This enormous monument is one of the most iconic structures in Tokyo, rudely nicknamed "The Golden Turd."

Designed by a computer, this intricate network of fluorescent green pipes has taken over a subway station.

Watch out for the two-story Godzilla made out of tires.

The only Edo-period ferry that is still in operation in Tokyo today.

Sidle into a side alley for a taste of sumo wrestlers' traditional hot-pot soup, in a tiny restaurant founded by a former competitor.

For hundreds of years, participants in this Japanese festival have been making babies cry to ward off demons.

This Japanese Manneken Pis gets new outfits for every occasion.

This museum showcases the art of ancient sword-making.

An oddly touching memorial to a little-remembered nuclear tragedy.