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

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

This exacting restaurant will charge a fine for every grain of rice you've left behind.

Okinawan dining in a twenty foot tall, man-made tree house overlooking Naha Harbor.

Huts like this were once a hub for the female divers who collected pearls and seafood off Japan's coasts.

Haunted house kitsch meets Japanese folklore at this theme bar where patrons can “die” and have their own mock funeral.

Fans line up at the crack of dawn for a slurpy bowl of deliciousness at this noodle counter inside a factory.

Come for the fish sundae, stay for the collection of Studio Ghibli cat buses.

The tallest city hall in the world offers an excellent bento box.

This bar is filled with Star Wars merchandise from around the world, all of it unlicensed knockoffs.

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

The tallest bronze seated statue of the Buddha in Japan.

This Kyoto Starbucks takes coffee drinkers back in time.

Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome.

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

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

Cherry blossom season comes early in this Japanese town where pink flowers line the streets and riverbanks.

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

Abandoned Japanese ghost town gives a glimpse into what our own metropolises may leave behind.

Coast along one of Japan’s mountain railways for coveted views of magnificent hydrangeas.

One of the first hotel rooms in a pod.

Starship-temple contains 400 tons of drinking water and offers free Japanese lessons.

Shells collected from over a hundred different countries line the walls, floors and ceilings of this fantasy museum.

Legend holds eating just one of these black eggs can add seven years to one's life.