Places WhimsyCat03 Wants to Go

"Singing sands" and the world's largest hourglass reside near Japan's Kotogahama beach.

The world's longest tunnel with an undersea section.

What's believed to be the country's first shrine is, in Shintō mythology, the annual meeting place of the gods.

A charming, homemade vending machine dispenses burgers and sandwiches at this hole-in-the-wall bakery.

"The Dance of Fools" is Japan's largest dance festival.

Existing for more than four centuries, the last of Hakone’s historic teahouses serves a sweet, mold-based rice drink.

One of the world's largest ancient burial mounds.

This exacting restaurant will charge a fine for every grain of rice you've left behind.

One of the tallest statues in the world, and the tallest statue of a goddess in Japan.

Weighing nearly seven tons, this massive sculpture was carved out of 500-year-old wood and decorated with thousands of jewels.

Nestled in an unassuming residential area, this "forbidden forest" is rumored to spirit away those who dare enter it.

A train ride to the middle of nowhere gives its passengers some of the most iconic views of Japan's seasons.

A moss-covered statue of a Japanese Buddhist deity stands at a quiet temple in downtown Osaka.

Roots and stumps that lay inundated for two millennia are on display in Japan's city of three mysteries.

Blowtorches, tuna, and a jolly, chain-smoking proprietor mark this beloved street-food stand.

The giant figure on the back of this turtle-shaped temple actually hides a memorial pendulum.

It's bad manners to eat and drink on the subways of Tokyo, unless the train is this bar. 

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

A mysterious set of tunnels carved in the hills of rural northern Kyushu.

Make your own fake treats at this factory and workshop in the epicenter of Japan's food replica industry.

Elaborate series of tunnels where traces of mass suicide are still visible.

This bridge is so steep it looks like a rollercoaster.

The largest of the Fuji Five Lakes is home to an impressive swan population—some real, some with paddles, and one with an observation deck.

This “peasant café” in the middle of Tokyo re-creates the atmosphere of the Japanese countryside.