Japan is a weirdly wonderful country, from its unique food to cultural obsession with things like anime, and cosplay. The country is spread over 6,852 islands and each region has its distinctive environment and culture. One thing that unites the Japanese is their love for paranormal activity and the country produces a lot of horror movies, TV series, books, and more. The inspiration for these come from real haunted places in Japan and there are certainly quite a lot of them!
15 Haunted Places In Japan
We have chosen a list of haunted places in Japan that got us spooked and wanting to know more about them. These places are scary and secretive that after knowing about them you would want to take a haunted places tour in Japan.
- Aokigahara Forest – The Suicide Forest
- Inukane Pass Tunnel – The Whispering Tunnel
- Oiran Buchi – The Wailing Women
- Nakagusuku Hotel – The Haunted Ruins
- Camp Hansen – The Lone Soldier
- Okiku’s Well – The Shrieking Banshee
- Round Schoolhouse – A Creepy Building
- Huis Ten Bosch – The House Of Horrors
- SSS Curve – The Martyrs Of The WW
- Labyrinth – The Scary Hospital
- Gridley Tunnel – The Mysterious Samurai Ghost
- Himuro Mansion – The Grisly Murders
- Ikego Middle Gate – The Cursed Concentration Camp
- Weekly Mansion – The Hub Of Paranormal Activities
- Hiroshima – The Spooky Peace Memorial
1. Aokigahara Forest – The Suicide Forest
The thick twisted forest of Aokigahara is eerily silent, and even sunlight finds it hard to weave its way through the canopy. Infamous across the world as ‘suicide forest’ hundreds of people have committed suicide in the forest, so much so that the government has placed information and cards everywhere about suicide prevention. But, this forest has a reputation as among the creepiest haunted places in Japan for a long time. It was used to practice ‘ubatse’ or the practice of leaving old women to die in the forest, and it is said that their yurei (soul) still haunts the woods.
Location: Japan, 〒401-0300 Yamanashi Prefecture
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2. Inukane Pass Tunnel – The Whispering Tunnel
Tunnels can be scary places even without the association of ghosts and ghouls! The dark and dingy structures are perfect for wrongdoings, and that is what happened to a young girl a few decades ago. The girl was murdered and was never laid to rest peacefully, and has been said to haunt the tunnel ever since, making it one of the most haunted places in Japan. A visitor to the tunnel will hear whispering, and gibberish but mostly hear the words ‘Stop’ asking them not to venture further ahead. Those who dare often feel a presence poking, shoving, prodding them and it’s unlikely they will ever cross the length of the tunnel.
Location: Old Chusetsu Tunnel, Japan
3. Oiran Buchi – The Wailing Women
Men have exploited women since the dawn of time, but the story of the prostitutes or the Oiran of Yamanashi still haunts people today. The Oiran Buchi bridge is counted among the scariest places in Japan. The tale goes back to the 16th century when the area had gold mines that were run by the Takeda Clan, who also ran brothels to keep the miners happy. After the Battle of Nagashino, the Takeda clan escaped from the area but not before killing all the prostitutes so they wouldn’t share the information about the mines. The clan members invited the prostitutes on the bridge and slashed the ropes! It is said that the wails and cries of the women can still be heard from the gorge below!
Location: Highway 411, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan
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4. Nakagusuku Hotel – The Haunted Ruins
The decrepit hotel ruins of the Nakagusuku Hotel is among the favorite haunted attractions in Japan. The hotel was proposed as a luxury resort and just a stone’s throw away from the Nakagusuku Castle. The hotel construction was opposed by a monk who said it would disturb the holy site and graves in the area. But, capitalist greed took over, and the owner started building it. After several mishaps and worker’s deaths, the construction was stopped. In a bid to restart it, the owner promised to stay overnight at the hotel to prove it was safe but instead he returned talking crazy in the morning and disappeared off the face of the earth! Even today people can see lights and feel a cold presence in the empty corridors of the hotel.
Location: Near Nakagusuku Palace, Okinawa
5. Camp Hansen – The Lone Soldier
World War II created a lot of destruction in Japan and left behind many dead soldiers. One such place which has witnessed this is the Camp Hansen in Okinawa. The camp is a United States Marine Corps base and supports over 6,000 marines. It is said that a lone soldier appears in blood-stained World War fatigues and asks for cigarettes from those nearby. These sightings have been widely reported, and even courageous marines refused to stand sentry at the gate. This eventually led to the closing of the Gate 3 where the soldier’s ghost is sighted. Because of this, it is counted among the most haunted places in Japan.
Location: Japan, 〒904-1200 Okinawa Prefecture, Kunigami District
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6. Okiku’s Well – The Shrieking Banshee
Within the Himeji Castle is an old well with a very intriguing tale of love and tragedy. It is also one of the most haunted places in Japan as it is where a ghost appears at night and screams! The ghost is the spirit of Okiku a young girl who served the Samurai Aoyama Tessan. Aoyama loved Okiku but his love was not reciprocated, in what can be termed as harassment today, he hid a valuable article and blamed it on Okiku. He offered not to punish her if she became his lover! But Okiku wasn’t going to have any of it, she refused to accept and in a fit of rage Aoyama threw her in the well killing her! This is why she can still be heard wailing in the silence of the night!
Location: 68 Honmachi, Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture 670-0012, Japan
7. Round Schoolhouse – A Creepy Building
Scary apparitions, noisy ghosts, floating lights, irregular shapes, abandoned vehicles, every paranormal activity in the book have been rumored to have happened at the Round Schoolhouse in Hokkaido. The school was built in a distinctive round shape in 1906 and was run like an elementary school. However, it shut down in the 1970s and since then has been abandoned. Soon after, these stories of paranormal sightings started coming in and several paranormal enthusiasts made a beeline to check out the stories. Many of them came back with troubling stories of things they saw and heard and it is said that few of them returned raving mad and talked incoherently. It continues to be a top spot in the list of haunted attractions in Japan.
Location: Higashibibaicho Garonosawa, Bibai, Hokkaido 072-0000, Japan
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8. Huis Ten Bosch – The House Of Horrors
The Huis Ten Bosch is a theme park that is a tribute to the Japanese-Dutch relations. While the theme park is a beautiful place with tulip fields and happy attractions, it is also home to one of the most haunted places in Sasebo Japan. A popular haunted house attraction, it uses technology to enhance the horror experience for its guests. It uses virtual reality to make things come alive and make you run with fear! It has several themes like the ‘Abandoned Hospital,’ ‘Mansion of Japanese Ghost Stories,’ ‘Digital Horror House’ and ‘Prison Ward.’ Keep your wits about you at this crazy haunted house!
Location: 1-1 Huis Ten Bosch-cho, Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture 859-3292, Japan
9. SSS Curve – The Martyrs Of The WW
In case the haunted places in Sasebo Japan don’t scare you enough then head to the SSS Curve in Okinawa. Okinawa suffered extensive carnage due to the World War and led to the deaths of many Japanese Soldiers. It is said that these soldiers come back to haunt this part of the road and visitors often feel a surge of nausea, dizziness, and the feeling of someone’s hand on their body. Several Japanese paranormal TV hosts have visited the place to record this phenomenon. It’s all sorts of spooky you don’t want to feel on the road!
Location: SSS Curve, Okinawa
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10. Labyrinth – The Scary Hospital
If you are looking for haunted house attractions in Japan but want something more exciting than the Huis Ten Bosch, then head to Fuji Q Highland theme park. The haunted house at the theme park is one of the best in the country and will truly leave you shaken. The house is based on a hospital theme and is inspired by a real hospital at the base of Mt. Fuji where a hospital harvested body organs from unwitting patients. It is said that these patients come back to haunt the doctors, and that is the premise of the Labyrinth. It’s 900 meters of pure gore, horror, and tricks that will leave you wondering if it’s just an attraction or if the house is really haunted?
Location: 5 Chome-6-1 Shin Nishihara, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture 403-0017, Japan
11. Gridley Tunnel – The Mysterious Samurai Ghost
Gridley Tunnel is a single-lane tunnel which is situated on Yokosuka Naval Base. It is believed that years ago, a samurai was going through this tunnel to avenge the death of his lord. But on the way, his enemies caught him and murdered him in this tunnel. Since the samurai failed to complete his mission, it is said that he has not left the place. His ghost is still seen on rainy nights at around 1 am in the morning. If you ever come across this tunnel, would you dare to go near it?
Location:Tomaricho, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 238-0001, Japan
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12. Himuro Mansion – The Grisly Murders
Just located outside of Tokyo, Himuro Mansion is believed to be one of the eeriest places in Japan. This mansion has witnessed some of the bizarre activities like occultist practices and gruesome murders. According to the local lore, the family in this mansion practiced the strangling ritual (Shinto) to seal off bad karma on Earth every fifty years. But the ritual got tainted as a lover once saved his maiden from being sacrificed. After this, the master killed everyone in the family and then took his own life. The ghost of the family members still lingers in the mansion and tries to attract people so as to complete the tainted ritual.
Location: Himuro Mansion, Near Tokyo, Japan
13. Ikego Middle Gate – The Cursed Concentration Camp
During World War II, the US navy Ikego Housing Detachment was a concentration camp where thousands of Korean and Chinese prisoners died due to forced labor. There are three gates that separate the place from Japanese – main, middle and back gates. Guards on their duty on the middle gate have often heard footsteps, voices and visions fo Japanese soldiers with no legs. The frightening sight has sent a chill through the spines of guards.
Location: Ikego Housing Detachment, Zushi, Yokohama, Japan
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14. Weekly Mansion – The Hub Of Paranormal Activities
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Despite being a luxury hotel, Weekly Mansion in Akasaka is one of the horrifying places to spend your night in. Building no. 1 in the hotel premises has witnessed several paranormal activities like white mists from vents, being pushed on the bed while asleep and electrical appliances turning on by themselves. A woman claimed that she was even dragged on the floor of the room and her back indeed had scratch marks as she told. Well, Japan has other beautiful places to stay at. So, better look for other places.
Location: Weekly Mansion, Akasaka, Japan
15. Hiroshima – Haunted Peace Memorial
No one has ever forgotten the Hiroshima-Nagasaki incident in which the atomic bomb ‘Little Boy’ destroyed the lives of around 140,000 people. The attack took place at the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall which is now changed to Hiroshima Peace Memorial. The place has been claimed to be haunted as the people nearby have heard uncanny voices near the dome. Not only this, but there have been numerous incidents of electronic voice phenomena where you can hear the atomic bomb exploding itself. Isn’t a hair-raising incident?
Location:1-10 Otemachi, Naka Ward, Hiroshima, 730-0051, Japan
Timings: Varies from 8:30 to 19:00.
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Can you already hear the creepy whispers? Visit these haunted places in Japan on your next trip to experience these mysterious happenings and check if they are really haunted! Don’t forget to take a friend along, because you don’t want to be caught alone with ghouls. So, plan your holiday to Japan soon with TravelTriangle.
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