SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Japan, as we’ve noted before, is allegedly full of ghosts. Now you may or may not believe in such things, but plenty of people in Japan are sure they exist, from the ghosts of murder victims to the spirits of seafood. In fact, there are numerous shinrei (ghost/spirit) spots, where unearthly apparitions are believed to appear regularly throughout the country.

Many of these spots have been identified and information about their locations can be found online. One might assume that this is to help people avoid accidentally going to a place filled with spooks — but that’s not entirely the case! In fact, some want to go to the shinrei spots — and a new taxi tour in Yokohama will gladly to take you on the night ride of your life!

Japan
(ghosts • shinrei spot • sightseeing • taxi • tour • travel)

Haunted, abandoned hotel complex on Okinawa is a lesson against messing with Japan’s spirits

Evie Nyan
Jul 3, 2015

A luxury leisure resort on the lush hillside of Okinawa. Panoramic ocean views. A waterpark, a petting zoo, a night club. Now crumbling into ruins, swallowed up by nature reclaiming the land developers tried to take. Perhaps the owners should have known better than to build on the site of ancient tombs. The local priests warned them. But they didn’t listen.

This is the tale of Okinawa’s Nakagusuku Kogen Hotel, one of the most haunted abandoned sites in Japan.

Global, Internet, Japan
(abandoned • ghosts • haikyo • haunted • hotel • nakagusuku • Okinawa • urbex)

Pac-Man ghosts were almost all the same color — red

BUSINESS INSIDER
Jun 12, 2015

The four different-coloured ghosts are immediately recognizable characters in “Pac-Man,” but Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde could have been all one shade if the president and cofounder of the video game company that created Pac-Man had his way.

Japan
(color • colour • ghosts • Namco • pac-man • Trivia • video games)

Get your chills on the rails with Kyoto’s Ghost Train 【Video】

Casey Baseel
Jul 27, 2014

Fear is commonly held to be a cold sensation, which is how we ended up with English phrases like “bone-chilling” and “a chill ran down his spine.” Those idioms may not translate directly into Japanese, but Japan has also traditionally thought of feeling cold as part of being scared.

Figuring that when life hands you horror lemons, you make horror lemonade, long ago Japanese society decided to use this to its advantage, which is why in Japan summer isn’t just the season of lightweight kimonos and all-you-can-drink beer gardens, but the time for ghost stories, too.

But in this modern age, maybe you’re too busy to sit around candlelit rooms in old manor houses swapping creepy tales with your friends. So if you’ve got an active lifestyle and need to keep moving while you get your terror on, a ride on Kyoto’s ghost train might be in order.

Japan
(cool • ghosts • Kyoto • scary • trains • travel)

Emergency services get prank phone call–but was it the wind…or ghosts?

Preston Phro
Jun 22, 2014

Summer’s here, and that means it’s time to gather your friends and head to a haunted house to scare the heat out of yourself. But maybe you’re a really tough guy or girl, and nothing like a few kids dressed up as zombies is going to give you a fright. You need a real ghost to help cool you down.

Too bad ghosts aren’t real, right? Well, after reading this story, you might not be so sure…

Japan
(ghosts • haunted houses • scary • technology • wtf)

Japanese Netizens ask: Would you move into an “accident site” apartment for cheaper rent?

Mike
Mar 5, 2014

Tokyo’s astronomical rent costs mean people will go to great lengths to find a cheaper deal. For many, this means living up to a 30-minute walk from their apartment’s nearest train station. Others might choose to live in extremely small or narrow rooms or may opt for what amounts to a cardboard box on an apartment building’s roof.

There is, however, another option that almost seems too good to be true: So-called “Accident Site” apartments. These are rooms in which a previous tenant has died inside, usually from non-natural causes. Some rental agencies specifically advertise rooms as “accident site,” while some agencies just list a room that’s mysteriously low-priced and let people figure it out for themselves.

Certain bargain hunting types with extreme mental fortitude and who don’t mind the occasional bleeding wall or mysterious, warm puff of breath on their cheek while they sleep, actually seek out these deals, but the large majority of Japan avoid them.

Japan
(culture • funny • ghosts • living)

Are mysterious nocturnal happenings in rural Shimane Prefecture the work of poltergeists?

Casey Baseel
Dec 18, 2013

Shimane Prefecture, located along the northwestern edge of Japan’s main island of Honshu, is commonly the butt of jokes. At best, it’s often confused with neighboring Tottori Prefecture, and at worst, it’s forgotten about altogether.

Despite its natural beauty and historical sites such as the Grand Shinto Shrine of Izumo, there’s no getting around the fact that Shimane is a quiet, rural place. Even in the prefectural capital of Matsue, there’s usually not much going on.

Except, perhaps, for a recent poltergeist attack.

Japan
(ghosts • scary • technology • weird)

Realize your life-long dream of being a ghost at Fuji Q amusement park!

Preston Phro
Oct 3, 2013

Looking for something to do on Halloween? Ever wish you were one of the undead masses lumbering around the planet with a grudge long after you died? Get a thrill scaring the pee out of others? Well then you better get to Yamanashi Prefecture’s Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park this month!

Japan
(amusement park • cosplay • ghosts • halloween)

Is one of Osaka’s largest electronics stores haunted? Japanese netizens say sure, it’s summer

Master Blaster
Aug 8, 2013

In Japan, summer is seen as the time when the line between the living and the dead becomes blurry and paranormal activity is said to be at its highest. This is the season when studios like to put out horror movies, restaurants like to put out drinks based on horror movies, and youngsters like to share ghost stories online.

Recently, one place in particular has been the setting for eerie rumors based on a tragic past. It’s also a place where you can get a good deal on a massage chair and a digital picture frame. Everyone’s talking about none other than Bic Camera, a massive electronics superstore which towers over downtown Osaka. Sit back, turn out the lights and take in some these quick Japanese summer ghost tales.

Japan
(Bic Camera • ghosts • Osaka)

We try 400-year-old Ghost Child Care Candy – so good it’ll raise the dead

Master Blaster
Jul 1, 2013

In the Higashiyama area of Kyoto City stands a candy shop which boasts a unique regular customer, the specter of a woman who comes for their candy. The legend began in 1599 and has been handed down from generation to generation to the present day.

The shop, now called Minatoya Ghost Child Care Candy Main Office, only sells its legendary Ghost Child Care Candy. RocketNews24’s Kuzo decided to head down to Kyoto to investigate the bittersweet story behind this candy shop’s connection to the other side.

Japan
(anime • cool • food • Gegege no Kitaro • ghosts)

Cabinet members of Japan gather to make an official position regarding PM Abe’s HaaaAUUUUnted HoooOOUUUuse!

Master Blaster
May 28, 2013

On 24 May, members of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet convened to make and official statement concerning long standing rumors swirling around the opposition party. These rumors are regarding the Prime Minister’s Residential Quarters (Sori Daijin Kotei) and the super spooky ghosts that may dwell inside.

Since taking power last September Prime Minister Abe has implied, “I’m not spending the night in that place,” by never spending the night in that place.