seagraced's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Otsuki, Japan

Saruhashi Bridge

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

Sixteen Wells

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

Monet's Garden Marmottan

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.
Osaka, Japan

Maishima Incineration Plant

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

Nihonbashi Kirin Statues

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

Oiteke Bori

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

Ki Castle (Kinojo Castle Ruins)

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

World's Largest Rice Scoop

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

Mt. Hiei

Birthplace of the Tendai sect and home to the marathon monks.
Kesennuma, Japan

Tsunami Stones

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

Chichibu Chinsekikan (Hall of Curious Rocks)

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

Sewerage Science Museum

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

Hōryū-ji

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

Nihonji Daibutsu: The Great Buddha of Nihonji

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

Book and Bed Hostel

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

Asakura Gallery

Kawaii meets poisonous at this unique art gallery.
Kawazu, Japan

Kawazu Nanadaru Loop Bridge

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

Kamakura's Seven Entrances

Narrow passes cut out of mountains surround the medieval capital of Japan.
Kumano-chō, Japan

Fudenosato Kobo Brush Museum

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

Hida Takayama Teddy Bear Eco Village

A collection of more than 1,000 teddies from nearly any profession.
Shimanto-chō, Japan

Kaiyodo Kappa Museum

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

The Hundred Caves of Yoshimi

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

Yusuhara Town Library

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