Tobu World Square

Near the hot springs of Kinugawa, just shy of Nikko, is a theme park that hands you the whole planet at knee height. Tobu World Square packs over 100 of the world’s most famous buildings into one walkable garden, each rebuilt in painstaking 1:25 miniature.

Why It’s Interesting

Stroll from the Pyramids of Giza to St. Peter’s Basilica to the Taj Mahal to a tiny Tokyo skyline in the space of an afternoon, towering over each like a friendly kaiju. The detail is the joy: some 140,000 miniature figures populate the models, frozen in tiny dramas you only notice if you crouch. It’s gloriously kitschy, weirdly educational, and an irresistible photo trap.

Best Time to Visit

Year-round. A winter evening illumination lights the little world up after dark for a different, glowing experience.

Getting There

It has its own station on the Tobu line toward Kinugawa Onsen — easy to reach and easy to pair with the rest of the Nikko area’s quirks.