Tokushima-shi, Japan
Awa Odori
"The Dance of Fools" is Japan's largest dance festival.
Places I've been
Places this traveler has marked as been there.
Tokushima-shi, Japan
"The Dance of Fools" is Japan's largest dance festival.
Ise, Japan
This ancient shrine has been rebuilt every 20 years since the eighth century.
Kawasaki, Japan
An eerie maze of industrial factories looks like something out of a dystopian sci-fi.
Nagasaki, Japan
The giant figure on the back of this turtle-shaped temple actually hides a memorial pendulum.
Inakadate, Japan
Giant art made in Japanese rice fields.
Miyoshi, Japan
A statue erected on an infamous cliff where young boys would hold dangerous "pee offs" to prove their mettle.
Takaoka, Japan
This giant bronze Buddha, the third largest in Japan, is the last in an ill-fated series of statues.
Nara, Japan
Devoted Buddhists can earn enlightenment in the next life by crawling through this symbolic nostril.
Ushiku, Japan
The third-tallest statue in the world depicts the "Buddha of Infinite Light," complete with observation deck in his chest.
Kyoto, Japan
A shrine contains nearly 200 statues of the Buddhist deity Jizo, dressed in bibs by parents who have lost a child.
Iga, Japan
Be a ninja - or just act like one.
Sasebo, Japan
Historical Japanese-Dutch relations are honored with haunted rides and flower fields in this replica town.
Tokyo, Japan
Meet the world's longest tapeworm in a collection that really gets under your skin.
Hokkaidō, Japan
This mesmerizingly colorful pond looks like a scene straight out of a fairytale.
Kamakura, Japan
A bronze statue dating back as far as 1252, still has remnants of gold on its right cheek from ancient gilding.
Hakone, Japan
Legend holds eating just one of these black eggs can add seven years to one's life.
Tokyo, Japan
Once a black market electronics marketplace, now an otaku shopper's paradise.
Tokyo, Japan
After a profound show of devotion for his master, a dog becomes the symbol of loyalty for an entire nation.
Kyoto, Japan
The quintessential Japanese rock garden has existed for more than 500 years.
Hatsukaichi, Japan
This Japanese national treasure was originally built in 593.
Hakone, Japan
Open-air museum with an elaborate sculpture garden, stretching for over 70,000 square-meters.
Kyoto, Japan
1,001 carved statues of the Buddhist God of Mercy, each with a unique face.
Hakone, Japan
This spa theme park lets its guests take a dip in pools of coffee, wine, or ramen broth.
Kyoto, Japan
The 10,000 Torii shrine.