Grab a stick, tie a cucumber to it and try to capture this mythical water-dwelling creature at Kappabuchi Pool in Tono, a city in Iwate prefecture.

The Kadokawa Cultural Museum, in Tokorozawa city north of Tokyo, fuses museums of art, anime and oddities with a huge, reader-friendly library.

The nine-hole course near George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens bills itself as a golf oasis in the northern Australian port town of Darwin.

Four hundred acres of flora from all over the world await you at a botanical garden surrounded by the misty covered Koolau Mountains of Hawaii. It was built more than 40 years ago by the Army Corps of Engineers as part of a flood-control project in the city and has been a relaxing place to enjoy ever since.

Donkeys, llamas and capybaras are among the 140 animals at Izu Shaboten Zoo, less than a three-hour drive from U.S. bases near the Japanese capital.

A visit to cultural landmark Toho Cinemas Shinjuku, which is equipped with Motion EFX Theater, does not disappoint.

Itsukushima in Hiroshima Bay is known for its iconic floating torii, its forests and its wildlife. But the aquarium has some distinct claims to fame, including a unique species of porpoise.

Maboroshi Hakurankai, or Phantom Exhibition, is a display of creepy, salacious and off-beat art in Ito city, south of Tokyo. The private exhibition has clowns, vintage toys and mannequins. It’s a perfect stop for anyone interested in the quirkier aspects of Japanese culture.

The main attraction at Bear Tree Park in Sejong City is — you guessed it — the more than 100 bears of the Asia black and brown species.

Grandberry Park, a sprawling shopping outlet in Machida only 30 minutes from Camp Zama, the headquarters of U.S. Army Japan in greater Tokyo, is a breezy option to beat the heat this summer. With more than 240 stores, including a market, a movie theater and multiple play spaces, there’s something for everyone in the family.