Places rua Wants to Go

A canvas of crops grow from vibrant red soil in this terraced farmland.

270 million year-old forest of stone.

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

Japan's hottest hot spring has a memorable name.

Steaming blood-red hot spring from hell.

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

A whimsical museum dedicated to the mischievous kappa, a mythical cucumber-loving water sprite.

Plagued with warts? Leave a frog at this small shrine in the city of Tosa, and you may be cured.

Sharks, stingrays, and turtles swim in the pools at this former elementary school.

This unique museum explores the world of Japanese demons and spirits.

Turn around and stick your head between your legs for the best view of this tree-covered sandbar.

Giant sand sculptures of famous people and places are on display near the Tottori sand dunes.

An anthropological theme park that depicts the cultures of around 20 different countries.

A kitsch shrine dedicated to the ogre-slaying folktale hero born from a peach.

The only Buddhist temple in Japan dedicated to breasts.

A replica of an ancient alien-like idol humorously represents spectacles in a corner of this shrine complex.

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

This whimsical garbage disposal facility receives around 12,000 accidental tourists each year.

The tomb of an infamous chimeric monster whose corpse once washed ashore in Osaka.

Perhaps the world's cheapest vending machines.

A 90-year-old underground water reservoir offers a more industrial kind of tranquility.

This lonely rock has been turned into a character loved and feared by children.

Visit Finnish architect Matti Suuronen's first UFO-shaped home.

This irregularly shaped sea fortress has defended not one but three different sovereign states.