In the snowy wilds of Japan's Yamagata Prefecture, where winter wraps the land in an icy hush, something eerie stirs in the Zao Mountains. As the temperature drops and the storms rage, the trees on these slopes begin to transform—until they no longer look like trees at all.

From the outside, it might look like a jumble of random boulders scattered across a hill—but step a little closer and you’ll find yourself walking through an ancient, rocky time capsule. Welcome to Stone Garden in Padalarang, West Java—a surreal limestone landscape perched high above the city, right beside the mysterious Goa Pawon, a cave that once housed prehistoric humans.