Today’s question is: What are some scary stories, legends, or spooky areas that you know of in Japan?
With Halloween around the corner, let’s talk about some spooky stuff! Do you know any Japanese legends or scary stories? Do you know of any areas in Japan that are spooky, haunted, or famous for purported supernatural activity? Tell us in the comments!
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1. *[Yotsuya Kaidan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yotsuya_Kaidan)* aka Tale of Oiwa is probably one of the creepiest stories that is mostly based on real-life events in 17th century Edo and Myokoji (where Oiwa is supposedly buried) near Shin-Kozinuka station and Oiwa Inari Tamiya Jinja in Yotsuya are two shrines associated with it.
2. Himeji castle is associated with Tale of Okiku, a ghost of young servant woman thrown in the well by her angry master for supposedly losing a plate. She is supposedly still heard on some days counting dishes and screaming (see Okiku’s Well).
3. Maruoka castle in Fukui is associated with one of the most famous stories of *hitobashira* (ritual human sacrifice) – a sacrificed woman wreaking vengeance on an oathbreaking samurai lord by overflowing castle’s moat each season.
4. Joren Falls in Izu is said to be infested by jorogumo (woman-spider), most local folk tales say that it is a place, where jorogumo took its pray and have eaten it alive for days. On the bright side – it’s one of the weekend hiking trips from Tokyo that I would actually recommend – starting in Kawazu and going up all the way to Shuzenji – the route passes near the falls.
5. Old Inunaki Tunnel in Fukuoka is fairly infamous in Japan for being site of grizzly murder of a factory worker by a group of local youth, who set him on fire.
6. Old Komine Tunnel in Hachioji is another place, which is rather infamous, because of a murder of a girl committed by a serial killer and cannibal Miyazaki Tsutomu. There were so many reports of screams and sighting of running girl in a tunnel that a new tunnel has been constructed nearby and the former fell into disuse.
7. Oiran Buchi Bridge in Yamanashi has a reputation as a place where a group of local prostitutes were supposedly murder in 16th century by Takeda clan to keep the location of local gold mines a secret. Eerie sounds are supposedly frequently heard on the valley down below. In late 20th century the nearby road gained a serious reputation for a lot of deadly, unexplained accidents.
8. Osore-zan’s Bodai-ji temple had been believed located in place, where gates to the underworld open, it’s locate on a volcanic lake and you can smell the sulphur on some days. It’s also a place, where people report feeling being touched by the dead.
9. Nanzen-ji is the site of the gory death of Ishikawa Goemon (legendary outlaw) who was boiled alive following a supposed botched attempt on Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s life.
10. Something less haunting: Ichijo-dori in Kyoto is known as yokai street due to monster sculptures around it.