Japanese Capsule Hotels

Welcome to the future. Capsule hotels are popping up everywhere in Japan, mostly in or near centers of mass transit. While they are becoming increasingly more popular in Japan, you might think it was a bizarre laundromat if you stumbled into a row of them unawares. These capsule hotels are stacked living compartments that allow space owners to turn a small room into a four story hotel for commuters and travelers. With only room for a bed, small beside table, a television mounted above you, and ample room to sit up, a traveler's luggage is stored in a nearby locker outside the capsules; and public restroom facilities are usually available to tenants of the hotel.

Mexico's Island of the Dolls

One chinampa (man made island for agricultural purposes) in the south of Mexico City (in the Xochimilco section) hold a dark tale and appear morbidly fascinating. Old, dirty dolls hang raggedly from trees scattered from bank to bank, hung there long ago by a man named Don Julián Santana. One day, Julián heard the cries of a woman drowning near his chinampa, and although he tried to save her, she perished. Although she had died, he continued hearing her wails each night, and so he begun to hang the talismans to ward off dead woman's spirit. As he continued to do so, he became a Xochimilco legend, and people brought him dolls from across the country.

Gunkanjima, Japan - Forbidden and Forgotten

Gunkanjima is a once thriving, now forgotten urban wasteland of an island. It used to be a lively coal mining city, but has lain in ruin since it was abandoned for the pursuit of petroleum. Visitors are explicitly denied access, so this urban explorer was lucky to make it in and snap some photos.

Disney World's Underground Tunnels