These medieval wooden bridge pillars appeared out of nowhere in the aftermath of a huge earthquake.

In a resort town where the real Alice spent her summer holidays, iconic characters create a curious trail.

A romantic escape inspired by the legend of a child-eating five-headed dragon.

In the former treasury of a popular temple, a rare sculptural depiction of Kannon’s diverse avatars.

This most unusual dragon is made of recycled Chinese cutlery.

This sculpture is an homage to one of the most important Jewish women in medieval England.

The oldest civic library in Italy can trace its foundation back to 1619.

Home to a garden of poisonous plants and the only legal cannabis and opium farms in Tokyo.

The burial site of 16 men’s hair buns, which were lopped off in place of their heads.

A mysterious, perhaps haunted plot of land, untouched by modern development.

This surreal thumbs-up monument commemorates a shiatsu legend.

This small, easily-overlooked sculpture recalls the first time Graz saw a live elephant.

Luminaries from Albert Einstein to John Lennon once had a cup of coffee at Tokyo's oldest café.

Retro as can be, this cinema still uses film reels and screens revivals of Shōwa-era hits and classics.

The location of the site of one of the defining battles of feudal Japan is being fought over by two neighboring cities.

For but one summer in 1975, this rural suburb became a busy tourist spot when a local girl claimed to have seen ghostly faces on an old stele.

A glimpse into life in 1830s Tokyo, back during the heyday of the Tokugawa shogunate.

The former mansion complex of a merchant prince, related to a famed filmmaker.

Off the beaten path along the coastline of Miura, a scenic cliff with an evocative name.

A mile-long trail of pottery culture, full of clay pipes and lucky cats, including one that’s 12.5 feet tall.

A historic cavernous cistern lies hidden behind a wall at San Marino’s stamp and coin museum.

A single block in this stone staircase to the temple is mysteriously always wet.

Here lies Hattori Hanzō, a samurai who is remembered as a legendary ninja in today’s popular culture.

Feast your eyes on the centuries-old statues of the judges of hell.