At the edge of the Sea of Japan, where waves kiss a turquoise shoreline and a sweeping bridge links the mainland to a quiet island, something strange happens when the nights are just cold enough. From the ocean's surface, columns of light rise into the sky—silent, vertical beams that look like gateways to another dimension.

On the sun-scorched southern coast of France, wedged between the bustle of Marseille and the calm of Cassis, lies a slice of wilderness that looks like it leapt out of a Mediterranean dream. Welcome to Parc National des Calanques, a national park where jagged limestone cliffs plunge into turquoise coves so clear, they look Photoshopped.