zoobtoob

I literally just came here to post this having recently got home from Japan.

Go in autumn for spectacular colours surrounding the 4 waterfalls they have in the park.

I had the funniest time when a school-group passed me in the opposite direction on a walking track and I had to reply to "hello", "how are you?", "what is your name?", "where are you from?" to at least 6 kids wanting to use their English. It was really cute.

Long Zhiren

I had a similar experience somewhere in France, except the kids were trying to use their Mandarin Chinese. They couldn't have been over ten years old. I had to tell the chaperones and parents that I was thoroughly impressed. Alas, I am in the US and the school kids here don't seem to be learning anything.

jlahorn

This may be the loveliest walk/hike/trip into the past I've ever taken... The UNESCO World Heritage hike on the island of Pico in the Azores. Mountain and ocean, foamy pumice and tide pools, tiny vineyards with walls that seemed to grow from the rocky floor, goats and dogs and families tending to grapes by hand, and windmills. Except for fishermen out on the rocks and people actually working in the fields, we didn't see another soul the whole time. It's like walking through miles of living painting.

Thunderroad

Just remembered one more that I didn't mention on my previous list: the Pitons, in St. Lucia. Two dramatic peaks of almost 4,000 feet, framing a beautiful bay.

dark169

A couple of my favorites:

Waterton park in SW Alberta. Been here countless times, proposed to my wife here and got married here. At the wedding there where people born and raised in Calgary that had never been there.

Falling Waters in SW Pa. For being such a famous home lots of people in the area don't even know its there. The first time I went there it was a misty fall day with the leaves changing. Pretty magical.

I to was Nikko recently, mid October. Really liked it, the wife and I burned the last day of our JR passes to go up there there from Tokyo and spent the day walking around the park before returning.

turtleisland

Krak des Chevaliers in Syria.

Unfortunately it's one that will likely not last much longer with bombings from both the Israeli and Syrian governments.

the_happiness_store

+1

The souk in Fes, Morocco.
And as has been mentioned before - Borobudur
Ypres, Belgium - all that fighting for so little.

CDTraveler

I'm not sure I'd rate Ypres as an attraction, but to a serious student of history it is a must visit. We got there late afternoon and spent an hour in one of the many small cemeteries, paying our respects to the men and boys, for surely those who fought and died at just 16 were still boys, and from the cemetary we could see what had been their battlefield but was now a farmer's field. A plaque gave some details on the skirmish that had been fought there.

That evening we heard the "Last Post" sounded at Menin Gate, truly a ceremony not to be missed by those who visit the WWI battlefields.

BuildingMyBento

Perhaps widely known amongst the Japanese, but not so much for everyone else-
scattered throughout Tokyo (and Osaka; other cities I'm not as familiar with) are antenna shops, so called because these stores showcase famous (and seasonal) products, edible or not, from their assigned prefecture/region. In other words, if you don't have time to get to Ishikawa, Hokkaido or Okinawa for example, an antenna shop is your (only permanent) alternative. Department stores and major train stations often have prefectural fairs, focusing on specific regions delicacies, but antenna shops are actual brick-and-mortar storefronts (in Japanese only, but addresses can be found http://antenashop.enjoytokyo.jp/list/ and http://www.ohrai.jp/gt/antena/gai.html#block_top5).

GrinAndBearIt

The stone monument circles in this village in Wiltshire, England, are even more impressive than Stonehenge... much larger, quainter, and much less crowded.

ironmanjt

Leptis Magna in Libya - absolutely stunning

pinkcat

I am so impressed that someone from HNL should mention Avebury as noteworthy
I live 6 miles from Avebury and drive through it twice a day going to and from work, some of us live in the "quaintness" all the time so travel for a change of scenery, I came on this list looking for somewhere to visit and find my own "backyard" mentioned

danielonn

Would the International Terminal at SFO count? It 2000 I went for their Press(Thanks to my friend who was a travel agent at the time)grand opening ceremony and saw Gate 101 one of the first gates ever built for the Airbus 380. When they said it would be a double decker plane I went home and played around with the design in my head.

I loved the artwork and the airport had excellent food provided by the various dining venues. There was literally a smorgasboard of food from pizza, pasta, sandwiches to delicious deserts. I fondly remember having Espresso and a delicious chocolate cake at Cafe Del Mondo.

This was like an art museum opening . Air France provided Champagne and there was wine tasting too from the local vineyards. With enough wine to last a century.

Everyone went home with a Bottle of Wine, Wineglass that Said SFO, A Photo Book of the creation of the terminal and a nice carry-on bag.

Airlines such as Singapore handed out their amenity kits, pens. There were raffles and I remember winning 5 Day Passes from Continental President's Club, Dom Perignon from Singapore Airlines and a travel kit with neck pillow, blanket etc.

We were told to bring our passports as they were testing out the terminal for new passengers. So we went through the checkin process onto a plane and came in through customs. The Customs Officer stamped our airport visitor guide passports to show we arrived at SFO on a separate certificate congratulating us as being the first people through the terminal with the SFO Passport. When we completed visiting up to 10 venues we were given a random gift in addition to the other gifts. I got a hammer that was one of the first used at the groundbreaking ceremony signed by the Mayor of San Francisco and Director of Operations at SFO.

After going through customs the Arrival Hall had Joesph Schmidt Chocolate Boxes for those who participated along with Swiss Chocolate from Swiss Air.

It was fun(:

SeriouslyLost

Tomb of Jesus in Aomori prefecture, Japan. Fabulous place. Bet few of you knew, according to the site, that Jesus went to Japan and retired their, his Japanese half brother being the one that actually died on the cross.

Seriously.

The place is simply bizarre.

chollie

Thanks for this. I've only been to Japan twice, but the 'small' hidden little gems were my favorites (and the food, I thought I had a slight clue about Japanese food, but there was sooo much more!)