Imagine walking through an ancient forest so untouched by time that even the soil seems to rise and fall beneath your feet—as if the Earth itself were breathing. Welcome to Shirakami-Sanchi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Japan, home to one of the last remaining virgin beech forests in East Asia... and possibly the most subtly mystical landscape in the entire country.

If you've ever dreamed of stepping into a postcard — all **colorful clapboard houses**, fishing boats bobbing on a breezy harbor, and old-timey shops that smell faintly of sea salt and wood polish — you might want to point your compass toward **Lunenburg**, Nova Scotia. This **UNESCO World Heritage Site** isn’t just a pretty face. It’s a living, breathing museum of Canada’s maritime past — where pirates once prowled the nearby waters, schooners were born, and every street whispers a salty tale.