Giant sand sculptures of famous people and places are on display near the Tottori sand dunes.

Weighing nearly 7 tons, this massive sculpture was carved out of 500-year-old wood and decorated with thousands of jewels.

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

These Japanese gardens are blankets of light for dark winter nights.

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

An unlikely hit, this museum is dedicated to the inventor of instant ramen and cup noodles.

This 14th-century temple is also known as the "Temple of the Golden Pavilion" for its gorgeous gilded reliquary hall.

Oddly touching memorial to a little-remembered nuclear tragedy.

Closed for decades, this strange symbol of Japan's Expo '70 has finally opened its psychedelic insides to the public.

The Hanshin Expressway goes right through its 5th, 6th, and 7th floors.

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.

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

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

The world's largest drain sits below the city of Kasukabe, Japan.

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

Enormous underground chamber built to detect 'ghost particles' of the universe.

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

An unexpected curiosity cabinet hidden within a department store in the Japan Post tower.

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

Dedicated to the armor and weapons used by the legendary Japanese warriors.

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

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

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

We heard you like volcanoes so we put a volcano in your volcano so you can die for sure...