shannondettrow's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Kumejima-chō, Japan

Tatami-ishi (Tatami Rocks)

Unusual hexagonal rocks formed by cooling lava named for their resemblance to traditional Japanese tatami mats.
Sasebo, Japan

Henn-Na Hotel

The world’s first hotel to be run by robots.
Gamagori, Japan

Takeshima Fantasy Museum

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

Hiroshima's Hypocenter

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

Chinoike Jigoku

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

Sokushinbutsu of Dainichibou Temple

The self-mummified monks of Japan.
Nagasaki, Japan

Gunkanjima Island

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

Aokigahara Forest

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

Cat Island

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

Head of the Virgin Mary

The statue's head is one of the few fragments of the original Urakami Cathedral to survive the atomic bomb.
Kyoto, Japan

Ichiriki

More than 300 years old, Kyoto's historic "teahouse" still operates as an invitation-only geisha club.
Kyoto, Japan

Funaoka Onsen

Have a soak at this retro bathhouse, where you will find Japan's first electric bath, tiling from Spain, and wood carvings representing the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.
Kyoto, Japan

Hair Rope of Higashi Hongan-ji Temple

When this massive wooden temple ran out of rope, they made one out of devotees' hair.
Kyoto, Japan

Mimizuka

Burial mound for the ears and noses of thousands of mutilated Korean soldiers.
Kyoto, Japan

Honke Owariya

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

Okazaki Shrine

The cutest shrine in Kyoto is dedicated to bunnies.
Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto Botanical Garden

With over 12,000 different species of plants, this botanical garden is Japan's oldest and most diverse.
Kyoto, Japan

Starbucks Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya

This Kyoto Starbucks takes coffee drinkers back in time.
Kyoto, Japan

Yasui Kompira-gu Shrine

Crawl through the hole in the middle of this stone to break off a bad relationship or initiate a good one.
Kyoto, Japan

Kiyomizu-Dera Temple

A shrine contains nearly 200 statues of the Buddhist deity Jizo, dressed in bibs by parents who have lost a child.
Kyoto, Japan

Otagi Nenbutsu-ji

Twelve hundred stone carvings guard this off-the-beaten-path Buddhist temple.
Kyoto, Japan

Sanjūsangen-dō

1,001 carved statues of the Buddhist God of Mercy, each with a unique face.
Kyoto, Japan

Yokai Street

This neighborhood thoroughfare is haunted by dozens of homemade monsters.
Kyoto, Japan

Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine

The 10,000 Torii shrine.