Places Ybleh5 Wants to Go

This garden located inside a bamboo forest once belonged to a famous Japanese actor.

A calico cat named Tama was the wildly popular Super Station Master at this train stop in southeast Japan.

Have a soak at this retro bathhouse, where you will find Japan's first electric bath, tiling from Spain, and wood carvings representing the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.

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

This brothel-turned-restaurant features plenty of surprises and elaborate, extravagant architecture.

The divine septet of Japanese fortune gods are rendered in 1,000-year-old wood at this peaceful site.

This town near Nagasaki is flecked with fruit-flavored bus stops.

Each year this Japanese temple overflows with scowling, bearded good luck talismans.

A 17th-century Shinto shrine that is home to statues of Mickey Mouse and Pikachu.

Giant animal sculptures are created with the rice straw leftover from the fall harvest each year.

Historical Japanese-Dutch relations are honored with haunted rides and flower fields in this replica town.

A flight of this "ghost staircase" has 40 steps on the way up, but only 39 steps on the way down.

If you forgot something to read during your trip to Tokyo, this hostel has you covered.

White beach sands made of the remains of tiny, star shaped creatures.

This bar is filled with Star Wars merchandise from around the world, all of it unlicensed knockoffs.

This 400-year-old sweet shop serves a delicacy some have described as "edible incense."

These unique toilets feature transparent glass covered in PDLC film.

This ancient temple is set up to take you on a pilgrimage of self.

A remarkable lava formation encloses a line of Buddhist statues that can't be accurately counted, according to local mythology.

Crawl through the hole in the middle of this stone to break off a bad relationship or initiate a good one.

Unusual hexagonal rocks formed by cooling lava named for their resemblance to traditional Japanese tatami mats.

A disconnected rotary phone for "calling" lost loved ones offered a unique way of dealing with grief in disaster-stricken Japan.

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

A real-life replica of a home from Hayao Miyazaki's beloved movie "My Neighbor Totoro."