In 869 Kyoto was struck by a massive epidemic. In order to end the plague and appease the gods, Emperor Seiwa requested the head priest of the Yasaka Shrine to hold a procession to remove the evil... »

Cultures and Civilizations , Wondrous Performances, Rites and Rituals | Edited by spinkk, Dylan and others

The JMSDF Submarine Museum's three-story brick building, opened in 2006, is dwarfed by the submarine Akishio, mounted on steel cradles between the museum and Kure's busy downtown street. The... »

Museums and Collections, Unique Collections, Unusual Monuments, Retro-Tech | Edited by spinkk, Dylan and others

During World War II, Japanese naval forces in Okinawa, led by Rear Admiral Minoru Ota, built an elaborate underground headquarters, with hundreds of meters of connecting tunnels under a hill in... »

Memento Mori, Ossuaries, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries, Ghost Towns, Disaster Areas, Subterranean Sites | Edited by spinkk, Dylan and others

On Monday, August 6th, 1945, at 8:15 am, a US bomber dropped the first nuclear weapon used in warfare over the city of Hiroshima. Estimates of the number killed vary from 90,000 to 166,000... »

Museums and Collections, Strange Science, Unique Collections, Memento Mori, Ghost Towns, Disaster Areas | Edited by spinkk and Dylan

Located in the Omotesando shopping street in Miyajima is what is said to be the largest wooden rice scoop in the world. »

Unusual Monuments | Edited by spinkk

The Japanese battleship Yamato, built in the shipyards at Kure in 1941, was 263 meters long, with twin screws five feet in diameter. It was sunk by American planes in April 1945. The museum,... »

Unique Collections | Edited by spinkk

Watasenia scintillans, or the Firefly Squid, is only 3 inches long, but packs a stunning feature in that small package. At the end of their tentacles are special organs called photophores that... »

Watery Wonders, Fascinating Fauna, Bioluminescent Spots | Edited by Dylan

When the Roppongi Hills urban development project opened in 2003, it quickly wowed Tokyoites with its office towers, art museum, deluxe hotels, and prestigious shopping. The most curious part of... »

Fascinating Fauna, Instruments of Science | Edited by ilbonito, michelle and 2 others

The G-Cans project (Shutoken Gaikaku Housui Ro, or the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel) is a massive underground waterway and water storage area built by the Japanese... »

Subterranean Sites | Edited by Dylan, mrobscurity and 3 others

On March 1st 1954, the 23 crew members of the Japanese fishing boat "Daigo Fukuryu Maru" ("the Lucky Dragon") were amazed to find a fine snow falling, far out to sea in the tropical North Pacific.... »

Disaster Areas | Edited by ilbonito and re_nakaba