phelpsm610's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Ichikawa, Japan

Yawata no Yabushirazu

Nestled in an unassuming residential area, this "forbidden forest" is rumored to spirit away those who dare enter it.
Itoigawa, Japan

The Jade Coast

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

Mount Nokogiri (Saw Mountain)

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

Lucky Dragon and Atomic Tuna Memorial

An oddly touching memorial to a little-remembered nuclear tragedy.
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.
Nikko, Japan

Kanmangafuchi Abyss

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

Aogashima Volcano

We heard you like volcanoes so we put a volcano in your volcano so you can die for sure...
Noboribetsu-shi, Japan

Jigokudani (Hell Valley)

A steaming, boiling hellscape sources Hokkaido's thermal baths.
Ōmihachiman-shi, Japan

Okishima Island

A Japanese cat island also populated by the descendants of a band of banished samurai.
Beppu, Japan

Chinoike Jigoku

Steaming blood-red hot spring from hell.
Fujinomiya, Japan

Tenshou-Kyousha Shrine Mermaid Mummy

Reportedly 1,400 years old, this may be the first of the Fiji Mermaids.
Hokkaidō, Japan

Blue Pond

This mesmerizingly colorful pond looks like a scene straight out of a fairytale.
Tokyo, Japan

Sōgenji Temple (Kappa-Dera)

Shrine to Japanese water-goblins, complete with their preserved body parts.
Narusawa-mura, Japan

Narusawa Hyoketsu (Ice Cave)

A 70-foot-deep ice cave formed by lava from Mt. Fuji on the edge of Japan's "Suicide Forest." 
Nagasaki, Japan

Gunkanjima Island

Once the most densely populated place in the world, this island is now a ghost town.
Yakushima, Japan

Shiratani Unsuikyo Ravine

The magical, mossy forest that inspired 'Princess Mononoke.'
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.”
Fujinomiya-shi, Japan

Aokigahara Forest

A beautiful, dense forest in the shadow of Mount Fuji, with a tragic reputation.
Yamanouchi, Japan

Jigokudani Monkey Park

Hot springs monkey spa in the middle of Hell's Valley.
Tokyo, Japan

Vampire Café

A taste of the macabre Tokyo's ritzy shopping district.
Ishinomaki, Japan

Cat Island

On Japan's Tashirojima Island, cats are king.
Kyoto, Japan

Sagano Bamboo Forest

The sound of swaying stalks in this stunning grove has been named a governmentally recognized sound.
Queens, New York

The Abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch of the Long Island Railroad

A once crucial portion of the Long Island railroad still lays abandoned, waiting to be turned into an urban park.
Brooklyn, New York

Staten Island's Lost Subway Tunnel

An abandoned subway tunnel that could have reinvigorated Staten Island still lies somewhere beneath this Brooklyn park.