According to one legend, this bridge was crafted after monkeys formed a body-bridge across the gorge.

This mysterious medieval grotto holds a grid of sacred wells of unknown purpose.

Nope, not the one in France. The only officially-recognized reproduction of Monet’s garden in Giverny is located in a remote corner of Japan.

This whimsical garbage disposal facility receives around 12,000 accidental tourists each year.

Mythical beasts symbolizing the city of Tokyo guard a historic bridge.

This water goblin statue represents a 19th-century urban legend about a haunted canal that became a Japanese idiom.

A rare example of an ancient Japanese hill castle believed to be the fortress of a legendary demon.

This enormous "shamoji" means more to the people of Miyajima than just a way getting rice onto a plate.

Birthplace of the Tendai sect and home to the marathon monks.

Stone slabs along the coast warn of Japan's tsunami-ravaged past, often marking the highest point of a wave's reach.

This quirky little private museum is home to more than a thousand stones, carved by nature, that resemble human faces.

Near the mouth of the Yodo River, this museum offers visitors six floors of hands-on learning about Osaka's raw sewage.

Home to the world's oldest wooden building.

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

This giant seated Bhudda of Healing dates to the 1780s.

If you forgot something to read during your trip to Tokyo, this hostel has you covered.

Kawaii meets poisonous at this unique art gallery.

An ingenious solution to a tricky engineering problem, this spiraling bridge takes drivers for a dizzying spin.

Narrow passes cut out of mountains surround the medieval capital of Japan.

This little town supplies Japan with most of its calligraphy brushes, still made by hand from animal fur.

A collection of more than 1,000 teddies from nearly any profession.

A whimsical museum dedicated to the mischievous kappa, a mythical cucumber-loving water sprite.

This ancient burial site was once thought to be the home of a race distinctive to Ainu folklore.

High in the mountains of Kochi Prefecture, a magnificent library designed by a world-famous architect.