HIDDEN PATHS - Walking Historical Kyoto and PARANORMAL KANSAI (companion book to the HIDDEN PATHS series) has featured on a number of excellent podcasts focusing on both Japan/Asia and also the Paranormal and Unexplained genres. One such podcast was 'Weird, Wacky, Wonderful Stories Podcast'. The podcast sadly no longer puts out new episodes but HIDDEN PATHS' Phillip Jackson featured on two episodes. In these two episodes we discussed a number of locations featured in the book 'PARANORMAL KANSAI - Mysteries & Unexplained Stories of West Japan'. In this blog post we will highlight the content of the second episode which was recorded and aired in March 2021 and can still be found to listen to on the HIDDEN PATHS - Walking Historical Kyoto YouTube channel, links below.
The episode was hosted by Shelly and Bella (a British and American couple) and the podcast covered a range of stories in the genres of the paranormal, unexplained, and UFO's etc. The running time of this particular episode was just under 50 minutes and in that time we went in-depth on some very chilling stories and locations of the paranormal from the Kansai region of Japan. All of the stories and locations discussed feature in the book PARANORMAL KANSAI.
The first subject we talked about was the 'Doll Shrine', Awashima Shrine in Wakayama and the story of Okiku Dolls, the story of the doll bought for a little girl in Hokkaido named Okiku. On the podcast we talk about what happened to the doll after the death of Okiku and how the family were left with a very haunting experience that in time they came to live with and accept.
Next we moved on to a very chilling tale from Osaka, a story that connects historical tragedy over 400 years! the Sennichimae Department Store Fire. A fire in a downtown department store in Osaka, 1972 which took the lives of 118 people that were partying in an upper floor bar in the evening. But how does that terrible night connect to an execution ground from the Edo Era?! Ghostly sightings, sounds, and presences that continued on after the event even when a new building was erected in place of the original department.
From there we talked about another very tragic tale from the past, one which yet again connected events from the past with loss of life in later years. Nakagawara Beach in Mie, 1955 saw an event that would traumatize the local community for years after. Did ghosts of the past, killed during the Second World War, come back to claim more lives on the anniversary of their own death?
The next topic of the podcast episode covered haunted tunnels and we discussed the story of Aoyama Tunnel in Mie. A tunnel that has numerous accounts of paranormal activity related to it such as car engine failures, apparitions of shadowy figures, ghosts in vehicles, and materialization of long black hair! And if that is not enough, then there is the rumour that a telephone kiosk by the tunnel entrance is haunted by spirits using the telephone to communicate from beyond the grave!
You can find the episode by following the link at the HIDDEN PATHS YouTube channel.
And you can get a copy of 'PARANORMAL KANSAI - Mysteries & Unexplained Stories of West Japan' in paperback or digital format from all regions of Amazon.