A precursor to Taro Okamoto’s iconic Tower of the Sun.

A 20-meter (65-foot) robot towers over Tokyo Bay.

This little replica of Lady Liberty provides a bit of NYC in a Japanese city.

This ordinary set of steps is a must-see destination for fans of a certain romantic anime.

This bizarre residential building is the masterpiece of Von Jour Caux, the “Gaudí of Japan.”

Inside the columbarium, thousands of colorful, high-tech Buddhas guard the ashes of the dead.

A Japanese corporation has turned this small island town into living modern art gallery.

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

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

This battleship of a building was designed by a famed "mad architect."

For centuries young Thai men used this Giant Swing as a slingshot to heaven.

Only recently added to the shrine, this googly-eyed snail demon of unknown origin is said to have eye-healing powers.

Not quite the menace it once was, this monster still has some chops.

Colloquially known as “piss alley,” this narrow street filled with tiny bars and barbecue stands looks like it was pulled straight out of “Blade Runner.”

A sculpture garden built by a retired durian farmer.

Cavemen, elephants, and eagles greet passengers driving through the town's main intersection.

Bangkok celebrated its shifting monarchy with a militaristic homage to democracy.

The spiral staircase hidden inside this giant Parisian column was likely built for Catherine de Medici's astrologer.

A sinister pyramid in the Frari contains the heart of the famous neoclassical sculptor.

This ritzy Italian market is built around a statue of an unforgiven heretic who was burned for his belief in an endless universe.

At the crypt of St. Mary of Eulogies and the Dead you are left alone to ponder mortality among piles of skulls.

The only remaining arch of the oldest stone bridge in Rome stands in the middle of the Tiber.

The yawning maw of this pagan visage is said to bite off the hands of liars.

The skull of the patron saint of lovers lies in the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin—maybe.