pawelkkostrzewa's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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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

Koguma

This cozy café is housed in a repurposed pharmacy originally built in 1927.
Tokyo, Japan

Ueno Daibutsu

Only the face remains of this giant Buddha statue, which is said to be a source of luck for students.
Tokyo, Japan

Gunkan Higashi Shinjuku

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

Asakusa Underground Street

Stuck in a bygone era, the oldest subterranean shopping street in Japan hides beneath the popular Asakusa district of Tokyo.
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

Akihabara Electric Town

Once a black market electronics marketplace, now an otaku shopper's paradise.
Tokyo, Japan

Sengaku-Ji

This Buddhist temple is home to the graves of the Japanese national legends, the 47 Ronin.
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.
Ikoma, Japan

Kuragari Pass

This quaint mountain pass with centuries-old cobblestones is known as Japan's steepest slope.
Ikaruga, Japan

Hōryū-ji

Home to the world's oldest wooden building.
Nara, Japan

Shōsōin

A raised Japanese building has preserved 8th-century artifacts for more than a millennium, earning this log cabin a reputation as the "world's oldest museum."
Nara, Japan

Buddha's Nostril

Devoted Buddhists can earn enlightenment in the next life by crawling through this symbolic nostril.
Nara, Japan

Tōdai-ji Daibutsuden (The Great Buddha Hall)

This massive wooden building contains a giant Buddha, healing pillars, and tame deer wandering the grounds.
Kyoto, Japan

Issen Yoshoku

This kitsch-forward diner is dedicated to an almost-forgotten “one-cent” prototype of okonomiyaki.
Kyoto, Japan

Okochi Sanso Gardens

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

Mimizuka

Burial mound for the ears and noses of thousands of mutilated Korean soldiers.
Kyoto, Japan

Rokuon-ji Temple

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

Kyoto Botanical Garden

With over 12,000 different species of plants, this botanical garden is Japan's oldest and most diverse.
Kyoto, Japan

Tenryu-Ji Shrine's Bamboo Trail

A beautiful bamboo trail tucked in this famous Japanese shrine.
Kyoto, Japan

Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine

The 10,000 Torii shrine.