katyoxborough's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Osaka, Japan

Taiyoshi Hyakuban

This brothel-turned-restaurant features plenty of surprises and elaborate, extravagant architecture.
Tokyo, Japan

Book and Bed Hostel

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

The Jade Coast

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

Forest of Seven Lucky Gods

The divine septet of Japanese fortune gods are rendered in 1,000 year old wood at this peaceful site.
Niigata, Japan

Wara Art

Giant animal sculptures are created with the rice straw leftover from the fall harvest each year.
Tokyo, Japan

Naki Sumo Baby Crying Contest

For hundreds of years, participants in this Japanese festival have been making babies cry to ward off demons.
Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo Metropolitan Building Staff Cafeteria

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

Mount Nokogiri (Saw Mountain)

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

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

One of the world's largest tanks mimics the experience of watching rare whale sharks, giant rays, and deep sea creatures from the ocean floor.
Osaka, Japan

Izakaya Toyo

Blowtorches, tuna, and a jolly, chain-smoking proprietor mark this beloved street-food stand.
Nagano, Japan

Nagano's Darkroom

This ancient temple is set up to take you on a pilgrimage of self.
Tokyo, Japan

Intermediatheque

An unexpected curiosity cabinet hidden within a department store in the Japan Post tower.
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.
Kyoto, Japan

Ichimonjiya Wasuke

Established over a thousand years ago, this family-run teahouse continues to serve skewers of sweet rice cake to this day.
Kyoto, Japan

Honke Owariya

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

Wind Telephone

A disconnected rotary phone for "calling" lost loved ones offered a unique way of dealing with grief in disaster-stricken Japan.
Tokyo, Japan

Shakaden Reiyukai Temple

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

Hachikō's Grave

People from around the world visit the shrine of Japan’s legendarily loyal dog.
Hakone, Japan

Owakudani Black Eggs

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

Hiroshima's Hypocenter

A plaque marks the site directly below the mid-air detonation of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima.
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.
Fujinomiya, Japan

Tenshou-Kyousha Shrine Mermaid Mummy

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

Ekibenya Matsuri

A railway station takeout shop sells boxed meals in containers shaped like trains and snowmen that hold the country’s abundant regional delicacies.