kennedykovin's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Sapporo, Japan

Hachikyo

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

Gas Mask Tourism on the Izu Islands

Sulphuric gases inhabit a beautiful Japanese island.
Kesennuma, Japan

Kori no Suizokukan

450 dead and frozen fish, proudly on display in Japan.
Kyoto, Japan

Funaoka Onsen

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.
Tokamachi, Japan

Echigo-Matsunoyama Museum of Natural Science

Modern Japanese museum is buried by snow annually.
Tamura, Japan

Abukuma-do Caves

These wondrously illuminated caverns extend under the mountains of the Fukushima Prefecture.
Kawasaki, Japan

Ajinomoto MSG Factory

One of the largest producers of MSG in the world welcomes visitors to its Kawasaki factory with an albino panda named Aji-Kun.
Kyoto, Japan

Go'o Shrine

Shrine dedicated to boars that is believed to cure foot and leg injuries.
Osaka, Japan

Taiyoshi Hyakuban

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

Crepe Vending Machine

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

Kameya Kiyonaga

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

Funaya of Ine

The traditional houses along the coast of this charming Japanese fishing village allow people to sleep above the sea.
Hakone, Japan

Amazake-chaya Teahouse

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

The Jade Coast

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

Wara Art

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

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

One of the world's largest tanks mimics the experience of watching rare whale sharks, giant rays, and deep sea creatures from the ocean floor.
Kobe, Japan

Kobe Luminarie

An astounding annual light display honors the victims of one of Japan's most devastating earthquakes.
Kyoto, Japan

Ichimonjiya Wasuke

Established over a thousand years ago, this family-run teahouse continues to serve skewers of sweet rice cake to this day.
Kyoto, Japan

Okazaki Shrine

The cutest shrine in Kyoto is dedicated to bunnies.
Kyoto, Japan

Honke Owariya

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

Kanamara Matsuri Festival

A rare festival blending religion, blacksmiths, vagina dentata, sex workers, and the straight-up facts of life.
Kumejima-chō, Japan

Tatami-ishi (Tatami Rocks)

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

Wind Telephone

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

Henn-Na Hotel

The world’s first hotel to be run by robots.