thesmub's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Kyoto, Japan

Okochi Sanso Gardens

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

Sixteen Wells

This mysterious medieval grotto holds a grid of sacred wells of unknown purpose.
Narusawa, Japan

Fugaku Wind Cave

One in a pair of subterranean caves created by an ancient eruption of Mount Fuji.
Otsuki, Japan

Saruhashi Bridge

According to one legend, this bridge was crafted after monkeys formed a body-bridge across the gorge.
Minakami, Japan

Mount Tanigawa

This little known mountain has claimed four times as many lives as Everest.
Kazuno, Japan

Ōyu Stone Circles

Constructed thousands of years ago, these stone circles offer incredible insight into the lives of the people who built them.
Kamakura, Japan

Kamakura's Seven Entrances

Narrow passes cut out of mountains surround the medieval capital of Japan.
Izena-son, Japan

Izena Island

Ruins and statues dot the landscape of this tiny island rich with royal history.
Kamikawa-chō, Japan

Tonomine Highlands

A thick blanket of beautiful pampas grass cloaks this unique Japanese landscape.
Mine, Japan

Akiyoshido Cave

Approximately 300 million years ago, a massive coral reef existed in what is now the largest limestone cave in Japan.
Kobayashi, Japan

Crepe Vending Machine

Ever needed a chocolate-filled crepe in the wee hours of the morning?
Itoigawa, Japan

The Jade Coast

You can still find treasures on the pebbly beaches of one of the world's oldest jade-producing areas.
Tamana, Japan

Tonkararin

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

Bise Village

A network of sandy streets lined with verdant fukugi trees weaves throughout this tiny seaside town.
Tateyama-machi, Japan

Snow Canyon

A massive wintry wall of snow up to 66 feet tall flanks a highway through Japan's mountains.
Kyoto, Japan

Honke Owariya

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

Mount Mihara

This active volcano's siren song to suicide jumpers forced authorities to build a fence.
Aso, Japan

Mount Aso Caldera

The largest volcanic caldera in Japan holds an entire city in its maw.
Taketomi, Japan

The Star Sands of Hoshizuna-no-hama

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

Sagano Scenic Railway

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

Yasui Kompira-gu Shrine

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

Kiyomizu-Dera Temple

A shrine contains nearly 200 statues of the Buddhist deity Jizo, dressed in bibs by parents who have lost a child.
Kyonan, Japan

Mount Nokogiri (Saw Mountain)

This sawtooth mountain range still bears the strangely lovely marks of its history as a medieval quarry.
Nikko, Japan

Kanmangafuchi Abyss

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