Japan

One of Japan's Three Great Night views.

The second-largest of Japan's 12 original-construction castles.

One of the oldest and most important Shinto shrines in all of Japan.

Diving into cosplay at Japan's biggest dojinshi convention.

What it's like to take part in a Japanese funeral.

Other Asia

Ten days on $300 and no preparation whatsoever.

The city where everything is big, beautiful and expensive.

Monument to a culture more than 22,000 years old.

Laid back and livable, with koalas and little penguins just down the road.

Sydney's back door, carved sedimentary rock with pockets of temperate rain forest.

A vibrant modern city with statuary and cathedrals every way you turn.

The alps on one side, and the emperor's residence on the other.

The bastion that defied Napoleon, and the largest medieval armoury in the world.

Mozart's birthplace, and home to one of the largest castles in Europe.