Tokyo: Town of Terror
Tokyo is renowned for being one of the safest cities in the world, but that only refers to humans. Strange things lurk in the shadows of this high-tech metropolis. Ancient things. Powerful things. Possibly even dangerous things ...
Since times of old, Japan is said to have been inhabited by a variety of yokai (creatures from Japanese folklore), yurei (ghosts) and kami (gods.) Tokyo is no exception. This handy map will help you find them. Read on for a quick rundown of the things that go bump in Tokyo's night ... and daytime as well.
Tengu are ferocious mountain creatures and a staple of Japanese folklore. There are two 'species': the red-faced Longnose Tengu and the bird-man Raven Tengu. Both are masters of the martial arts. Rumor has it quite a few still dwell on the peaks of Mt. Takao. Tread carefully when climbing this sacred mountain.
The humble and pure of heart have nothing to fear from the Tengu, but woe betide the pompous and arrogant.
Nearest station: Takaosan-guchi (Keio line), Google map
Founded by Enryo Inoue (1858-1919) -- the iconoclastic professor nicknamed 'Dr. Yokai' for his lifelong attempts to debunk supernatural phenomena -- this park, which is dedicated to the philosophies of the world, is a testament to the man's unique beliefs. Visitors are encouraged to enter either through the 'Gate of Common Sense' or the 'Gate of Yokai.' Good luck.
Tetsugakudo: Matsugaoka 1-34-28, Nakano-ku, tel. 03 3954 4881, 9am-5pm, closed first Thursday of every month
Six hundred years years ago, in the shadow of what is now the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, the Nakano Choja (literally, 'The Rich Man of Nakano') hid a stash of gold.
To ensure none would ever discover the location, he would send a single servant with part of the treasure and then kill the servant as he returned across Yodobashi Bridge -- the same one, totally coincidentally, that the Yodobashi Camera chain happens to be named after. Karma eventually caught up with Nakano Choja when his 18-year-old daughter perished on her wedding day, and her corpse transformed into a snake as punishment for his sins.
Yodobashi Bridge: Nakano-Sakaue Station (Marunouchi Line), Google map
According to Buddhist doctrine, the first entity souls encounter after shuffling off this mortal coil is Enma Daio (aka 'King Yama'), the Judge of the Underworld. Shinjuku's Taisoji temple features an enormous, larger than life statue of the fearsome deity, flanked by an equally scary statue of Datsue-ba, his elderly henchwoman who determines one's exact level of sinfulness.
Taisoji Temple: Shinjuku 2-9-2, Shinjuku-ku, www.monzen.net/taisouji, Google map
Disfigured and murdered centuries ago by her philandering husband, Lady Oiwa's ghost is said to roam the streets of Yotsuya today. Still considered extremely dangerous, it is tradition for any stage, TV or film production that dares cover her story to undergo a ritual purification at her shrine.
Read the full scoop here.
Oiwa Inari Shrine: Samon-cho 17, Shinjuku-ku, Google map
A century and a half ago, Akasaka's Kii-no-kuni slope was considered one of the scariest places in the city. In 1904, Japanese ghost-hunter Lafcadio Hearn reported sightings of a strange creature called the 'Mujina' here. Also called 'Nopperabo,' these yokai take the form of normal-seeming humans but with horrifyingly smooth and featureless faces. Fortunately, they are more interested in scaring the wits out of victims than hurting them.
Nearest station: Akasaka-Mitsuke (Tokyo Metro), Google map
Now renowned as the center of Japan's otaku culture, in the early Meiji period (1868-1912) Akihabara served mainly as a firebreak for the conflagrations that continually swept the wood-and-paper metropolis of Edo. A Shinto shrine established in 1870 to prevent further disasters led many residents to believe that Akiba Daigongen, a powerful Buddhist deity associated with fire, watched over the area.
Renamed Akiba-no-hara, or 'Lord Akiba's Square,' the rest is history. (The current official name, Akihabara, is another reading of the same kanji characters.) The shrine was moved to Taito-ku in 1888.
Akiba Jinja: Matsugatani 3-10-7, Taito-ku, Google map
Nearest station: Iriya (Hibiya Line)
The back streets of Asakusa are home to a yokai known as the Tanuki -- the racoon-dog. Notorious tricksters of Japanese folklore, Tanuki are renowned for their enormous and multi-talented testicles, which can be fashioned into makeshift disguises, tools, even weapons.
As symbols of good luck (the Japanese word for testicles, 'kintama,' literally means 'golden balls'), statues of Tanuki can be found throughout Japan, but Asakusa is home to a shrine specifically dedicated to them: Chingodo, which is part of the Sensoji temple complex. Just be careful you don't get tricked.
Chingodo
: Asaskusa 2-3-1, Taito-ku, www.senso-ji.jp/guide/chingodo.html, Google map
Tokyo's famed kitchenware district -- home to purveyors of the faux foods you see displayed in the windows of restaurants -- has a spooky back-story. It is named after the kappa, a sometimes-friendly, sometimes-ferocious yokai with a taste for human entrails.
Sogenji, a nondescript temple tucked into a side street, is dedicated to the creatures. It features a mummified kappa hand that is available for viewing by special appointment.
Sogenji Temple (aka Kappa Temple): Matsugaya 3-7-2, Taito-ku, Google map
Nearest Station: Tawaramachi (Ginza line)
The decapitated head of Japan's first samurai is said to be interred here -- and curses anyone foolish enough to try moving it. Case in point: when American forces tried razing the shrine to build a motor pool during the Occupation, the bulldozer flipped and killed the driver.
Read the full scoop here.
Location: Otemachi 1-2-1, Chiyoda-ku, Google map
11. Yurei-zaka, Mita
Nobody is exactly sure why this otherwise unassuming hill in the vicinity of storied Keio University is called 'Yurei-zaka,' or 'Ghost Hill.' Some say it's because of the large number of temples (and associated graveyards) that once stood in the area. Caution is advised.
Yurei-zaka: Mita 4-chome, Minato-ku, Google map
For many years, a mysterious torii gate stood incongruously in the middle of one of Tokyo's most crowded parking lots just outside of Haneda Airport. During the Occupation, the U.S. military tried to dismantle it, but stopped after a series of inexplicable accidents. Rumors of a curse intensified.
In 1998, after decades of planning and financial donations by locals, the torii was successfully relocated 800 meters from its original site to make way for a runway expansion.
Haneda Airport: Haneda 4-6-11, Ota-ku, Google map
Nearest station: Anamori-Inari (Keihin Kyuko Kuuko Line)
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