Places smorris Wants to Go

Legend says the goddess this shrine honors curses any couples that pass by.

Discover the past, present, and future of packaging in this unique Japanese museum.

Shrine to Japanese water-goblins, complete with their preserved body parts.

Colloquially known as “piss alley,” this narrow street filled with tiny bars and barbecue stands looks like it was pulled straight out of “Blade Runner.”

Tokyo’s only Vaudeville-cuckoo clock–steampunk-Victorian curio cabinet time piece.

A magical place that lets you play in and explore the world of Studio Ghibli.

The classic lawn figurine now claims this wooded area as home.

Every summer West Seattle experiences a housing bloom.

Peruse rare tomes like poetry bound in pearls or books with branches and berries growing out of their spines.

This Seattle joint serves food inside an old train car once used by FDR.

A colorful architectural gem in Seattle’s uniquely modern Central Library.

Make your reservation to have coffee with some kitties.

This semi-secret garden in south Seattle emulates a traditional Japanese garden using the plants of the Pacific Northwest.

A huge musical sculpture and other art installations on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grounds.

The early data processor factory founded in Washington for the 1890 U.S. Census went on to become IBM.

An overlooked tribute to one of the most important peace deals in American history.

Before Nixon, "watergate" meant canals.

Go take a picture with the inventor of the daguerreotype photographic process.

This bug-eyed water wheel uses the power of the Sun to clean up Baltimore Harbor.

The shelves in the back of this thrift store are devoted to saving, not selling, retro tech.

A hidden alley in urban Baltimore is a haven for graffiti artists.

Crammed into a Baltimore row house is an oddities shop that sells everything from skulls to dead insects.

Artifacts fill the old headquarters of the hugely influential political movement to ban alcohol in the United States.

The rogue roots are gradually consuming some of the historic marble grave markers.