Places userbrent Wants to Go

A museum dedicated to the history of Tokyo's often-overlooked working-class district.

One of Kyoto's oldest food establishments has supplied soba noodles to temple priests and the Imperial Palace.

Shells collected from over a hundred different countries line the walls, floors and ceilings of this fantasy museum.

Museum showcases Japanese sexuality and some amazing ocean views.

Coast along one of Japan’s mountain railways for coveted views of magnificent hydrangeas.

A plaque marks the site directly below the mid-air detonation of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima.

Drinkslinger is an unlikely vocation for a Buddhist monk, but at this Tokyo bar the enlightenment is served in a martini glass.

This Kyoto Starbucks takes coffee drinkers back in time.

The self-mummified monks of Japan.

A bibliophile's heaven that contains hundreds of bookstores, offering over a third of secondhand books for sale in Tokyo.

This pond is so stunning it looks like you've stepped into one of Monet's masterpieces.

The bartenders at this crime-fighting theme cafe are actual private detectives by day.

A massive cave complex boasts some of the clearest water (and most charming bats) in the world.

This mesmerizingly colorful pond looks like a scene straight out of a fairytale.

Tokyo’s only Ainu restaurant serves Indigenous food from northern Japan.

A 70-foot-deep ice cave formed by lava from Mt. Fuji on the edge of Japan's "Suicide Forest." 

Transport yourself to the 1980s era of video games at this themed restaurant and bar.

This spa theme park lets its guests take a dip in pools of coffee, wine, or ramen broth.

This historical theme park celebrates all things noodle.

Hanging over one of Japan’s “hidden valleys,” these vine bridges must be remade every three years.

Once a black market electronics marketplace, now an otaku shopper's paradise.

This neighborhood thoroughfare is haunted by dozens of homemade monsters.

The magical, mossy forest that inspired 'Princess Mononoke.'

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