Places samireland Wants to Go

The man who created the first Japanese-English Dictionary.

Archaeologists continue to debate whether this site yielded the oldest human remains in Japan.

The eerie, tragic setting of one of Japan’s most popular ghost stories.

The location of the site of one of the defining battles of feudal Japan is being fought over by two neighboring cities.

This statue of the "shiny uncle of Beppu" was erected in 2007.

The bamboo that helped Thomas Edison develop a longlasting lightbulb.

This replica of the Statue of Liberty is a quarter of the size of the real thing. It sits on the same latitude as the original, but on the other side of the world.

This prehistoric site is home to the largest shell midden cluster in Japan.

Located in the large-scale shopping mall is an otherwise unassuming aquarium featuring species native to Okinawa waters.

A quartet of temple guardian statues that allegedly cry at night for being forbidden from wrestling.

Though not uncommon in western Japan, this Buddha cut out of an ancient sarcophagus is the only example in central Tokyo.

A mystical shrine dedicated to a forest that once covered the area and the legendary fox spirit who lived there.

This abandoned railroad got a new life as a scenic promenade cutting through the city of Otaru.

An old woman cured cholera in the 1820s and now her grave is said to be the city’s most cursed object.

The former mansion complex of a merchant prince, related to a famed filmmaker.

The world's narrowest strait is often mistaken for a canal.

An eccentric castle with snake protectors and spectacular views of Beppu.

This one-of-a-kind shrine is dedicated to a girl who was too beautiful for her own good.

In the hometown of Eiji Tsuburaya, a street lined with intergalactic heroes and monsters.

A peaceful place to spot the rare and iconic red-crowned crane.

A single block in this stone staircase to the temple is mysteriously always wet.

Considered an enigma by folklorists, an object of primitive animistic worship lives on in Yamanashi.

Dedicated to humankind's achievements in aviation, this Shintō shrine is notable for its Greek-style architecture and collection of aircrafts.

An unusual structure of stone and glass honoring one of Japan’s most eminent Christian leaders who founded the non-church movement.