mattgulley's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Tokyo, Japan

Koukokuji Buddhist Temple

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

Old Tokaido Way

The centuries-old cobblestones of a feudal highway remain in the woods of Hakone.
Hakone, Japan

Hakone Checkpoint

Once the main gateway to Tokyo, sneaking through this checkpoint was a capital offense in feudal times.
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.
Hakone, Japan

Hakone Open-Air Museum

Open-air museum with an elaborate sculpture garden, stretching for over 70,000 square-meters.
Tokyo, Japan

The Lions of Namiyoke Inari Shrine

This shrine, built to protect against destructive waves, is home to two monumental lion heads.
Tokyo, Japan

Suribachiyama Tumulus

Unbeknownst to many, an ancient burial mound hides in plain sight in Ueno Park.
Tokyo, Japan

Basho Memorial Statue

Once the park closes at sunset, the greatest haiku poet of all time moves to face the Sumida River.
Tokyo, Japan

Kastori Bookstore

This one-of-a-kind indie publisher-bookshop specializes in archiving historic red-light districts and niche cultural topics of the Shōwa era.
Tokyo, Japan

Hanegi Park

The 650 red and white Japanese plum trees of this Tokyo neighborhood blossom each spring.
Tokyo, Japan

Fukagawa Edo Museum

A glimpse into life in 1830s Tokyo, back during the heyday of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Tokyo, Japan

Little Peeing Monk of Tokyo

This Japanese Manneken Pis gets new outfits for every occasion.
Tokyo, Japan

Obake Kaidan

A flight of this "ghost staircase" has 40 steps on the way up, but only 39 steps on the way down.
Tokyo, Japan

'Magokoro Tennyo' ('Goddess of Sincerity')

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

Shitamachi Museum

A museum dedicated to the history of Tokyo's often-overlooked working-class district.
Tokyo, Japan

Yanaka Cemetery

This sprawling scenic burial ground is the final resting place of Japan's last shogun.
Tokyo, Japan

Jimbōchō Book Town

A bibliophile's heaven that contains hundreds of bookstores, offering over a third of secondhand books for sale in Tokyo.
Tokyo, Japan

Kojo

This subterranean spot might be the epitome of Japan's baroque, retro coffee houses.
Tokyo, Japan

Harukor

Tokyo’s only Ainu restaurant serves Indigenous food from northern Japan.
Tokyo, Japan

Gotokuji Temple

The legendary birthplace of the Japanese maneki-neko is dotted with hundreds of lucky beckoning cats.
Tokyo, Japan

Omoide Yokocho

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.”
Tokyo, Japan

The Giant Ghibli Clock

Tokyo’s only Vaudeville-cuckoo clock–steampunk-Victorian curio cabinet time piece.
Tokyo, Japan

Vampire Café

A taste of the macabre Tokyo's ritzy shopping district.
Trogir, Croatia

Crkva Sv. Sebastijana (Church of St. Sebastian)

The interior of this church has been turned into a memorial to locals who died in Croatia's Homeland War.