A Few of Sapporo's Creepy Places (Aug. 1995) Translated by Shoko and Kevin Johnson For Americans, the scary time of the year is Halloween. This when ghosts and other creatures of the night break through to the world of the flesh. Here in Japan, deceased family members and other ghosts venture forth from the spirit world in August, during the three-day Obon Holiday (August 13, 14 and 15). Below, translated from the "Sapporo Ghost-Map Guide," are some of the places in the Sapporo area where ghosts can sometimes be found lurking. Mystery of the Subway! Between the Jieitai Mae and Makomanai stations there is a maintenance garage for subway trains. At the end of each day, the trains return to the garage, where they sit in silent rows on parallel tracks. Legend has it, though, that some of the trains have troubled feelings. Empoyees remember instances where they have run over people who have jump on the tracks to commit suicide. One night, when four maintenance people were working after midnight, one of the men heard a woman's voice. He called out to her, but then realized that there couldn't be a woman there at that time. He then told another person, who said, "You're not alone, I've heard the voices, too!" The maintenance workers complained to the city government. The government decided to bring in a Buddhist priest to help quiet the spirits. This seems to have reduced the voices, but they can still be heard. Visitors to the maintenance garage have to observe the building from the outside, though. Voices of Anguish from the "Falls of Peace". Teine Ward in Sapporo has a beautiful waterfall, surrounded by lush greenery with Mt. Teine in the background. However, there is a darker side to this place. It is a mecca for people bent on killing themselves. Men and women of all ages, young and old, jump to their deaths from the falls in a continuous procession. Even the public bathroom near the falls has been used as a place for self-immolation with gasoline. Why do people choose this place? It remains a mystery. At the entrance of the "Falls of Peace" park is a lonely-looking monument, inscribed with a story: "Long ago, people mined minerals on the mountain. Japanese brought Koreans to work virtually as slaves, under extremely cruel conditions. Many Korean workers died with anger in their hearts. It may be that the waterfall holds the anger of these perished workers." Also, people say that the ghosts of the many anguished people who have jumped to their deaths also are bound to the waterfall. Woman's Ghost Walks the Park. In Chuo Ward, South 15, West 18, Sapporo, there is a park called Jidensha Park. Many houses surround this park. In the daytime, people crowd the park, walking their dogs, playing games and relaxing. In the spring of 1994, an office lady in her 30s was walking home from a friend's house at midnight. She was passing by the public toilet, and as she crossed the park, she saw another woman, wearing a white dress, emerge from the small building. When the office worker looked at the white-dressed woman's legs, though, a chill went up her spine. She could see no legs at all! Many of the park's neighbors have reported seeing the ghost woman, too, and she has been talked about in the media. The Samurai, and the Girl-with-a-Pageboy-Haircut In Higashi Ward, one road has a lot of different kinds of ghosts appearing. Maybe this road is a junction between the spirit world and this world. The road's location is Higashi Naebo, 8-jo, 2-chome. This road is surrounded by a quiet residential area. Close to midnight, in the spring of 1994, a man was going home by this road, one very familiar to him. This time, though, his feet felt heavy, as though someone were pulling him. He heard a girl's voice, saying, "Will you play with me?" He turned around and saw a girl with a pageboy haircut. He thought, "This is strange, at midnight!" Just then, she disappeared. Another story is that the door to someone's house opened by itself and the sound of a soldier's boots walking around could be heard. Sometimes, people have felt a heavy presence on top of them while they are sleeping. They awaken to see a dirty, dangerous-looking samurai warrior standing before them. There are several stories similiar to this from the area. Salt for Protection If you are brave enough to visit these haunted locations, be careful. Some people say that a ghost will sometimes attach itself to your shoulder or neck and come home with you. When you return home, you should sprinkle salt on yourself before entering your house, to drive away any invisible "hitchhikers". Good luck! If you would like your own copy of Sapporo's Ghost Map see the Message Board (page 7) for details. Shikotsuko's Haunted Hotel by Chihiro Ueno You can hear the sounds of water lapping against the shore. Suddenly a white shadow appears! A ghost waits in the ruins of the hotel. This rumor is going around some of the bikers and the local circle of car enthusiasts. Route 512, nicknamed, "the line between Sapporo and Shikotsu Lake," is a popular cruising course surrounded by forest. Along the way to Lake Shikotsu,sit the ruins of what some years ago was a lakeside hotel. A rumor has been spreading that a mysterious phenomenon has appeared at the hotel. In the summer of 1993, two men in their mid-twenties left for the lake by car. While they were driving on the straight road surrounded by woods, they suddenly came across a two-story hotel. They stopped the car in a small vacant lot beside the road and started to walk to the hotel. The windows were broken and the walls were crumbling. Standing in the moonlight, one man suddenly heard a loud sound. It was like a bomb going off, but the other man couldn't hear it. Afraid, they decided to go back to their car. Getting close to the car, who should they meet there but a ghost. The white shadow seemed to be waiting for them. They quickly got into their car and drove away as fast as they could. Actually, this story is quite popular among young people, and I have gone there several times. The following is my experience. The best time to go is late at night, commonly called "ushimitsu doki". This means "the most favored time for ghosts to appear." When you go during this time, you can really experience the horror. It is definitely worse than in the daytime. The hotel looked like a lodging, and I thought it wasn't very old because its roof was steady and it seemed solidly built and not in such bad condition. It stands quietly in the center of the woods. It certainly seemed strange, but I didn't feel that it was a ghost hotel. First, we went in the front entrance; We found a lot of cigarettes and coins on the wall frames, everywhere. Someone said these were left as an offering for people who died there. Also I saw a lot of names painted on the wall. Maybe this was a memorial to people who have been there. The first floor was a spacious room, maybe a lounge, I thought . At the rear of the first floor, there was a big bath house (sento) like a pool. On the second floor, there were a huge number of rooms. I hadn't imagined that there were so many from the outward appearance of the hotel. Just like the first floor, there were so many things on the floor that it was difficult to walk around. Anyway, I didn't see a ghost, but as one person said, "I felt like someone was staring at me the whole time." For all that, there are still these questions to be answered: Why hasn't the hotel been pulled down? Why is it in ruins? And what really happened there? These are all amazing and interesting to think about. I myself wonder, why? If you are interested in the hotel and these questions, please go and see for yourself. You might be able to meet a ghost. Two-Wheeling It Across Hokkaido (Feb. 1995) by Frank Young In Japan, when something becomes popular, everyone seems to do it. In summer, particularly during the Obon festival season, few things are more popular than touring Hokkaido. The roads seem choked with every possible means of transportation. Every year, people flood north to catch a glimpse of the nature Hokkaido is blessed with. My wife and I joined this flood of humanity in mid August and set off on a mini-tour of southern Hokkaido. What we saw was amazing. I'm not talking about the nature, which was (naturally) beautiful. The astonishing part was the people. Hikers, cyclists, motorcyclists, cars, jeeps, and more all competed for road space. Add in the regular traffic of large, high-speed trucks and you have quite a sight. In the interest of adventure, we opted to travel by bicycle from Tomakomai, which is south of Sapporo, to Obihiro in central Hokkaido. We cleverly took the southern route because we thought it would be flat and the road would not be as busy as the main drag between Sapporo and Obihiro. Flat it was. Uncrowded? Hardly. Biking began much earlier than expected when I realized I'd forgotten my helmet at a company across town. After putting in a quick 15 km to pick it up, we were off on the hardest part of the trip: the walk to the subway. After lugging two bike bags, a tent, sleeping bags, pannier bags and so on, through the Sapporo subway and JR system, I was giving voice to woes I don't think those smiling people in the travel ads can even imagine. In Tomakomai, it felt more like the end than the beginning. Eventually, however, the bikes were reassembled and my wife donned her "Easy Riders" ball cap. Off we went. Southern Hokkaido is home to thoroughbred racehorses. If anything outnumbered the motorcycles, it was the horses, beautiful horses. The mares running with their foals made for a picturesque landscape as we whizzed our way west along the coast. We also quickly came to realize that anyone touring Hokkaido was automatically enrolled in the "Tour Hokkaido Club." On the road a very tangible camaraderie springs up and everyone waves, honks, or gives a hang-loose sign to fellow tourers. If you decide to tour next year, skip the bike training; waving for eight straight hours is much more grueling and demands adequate preparation. After our late start, we managed about 50 km before we made camp. Since the police didn't throw us out, I can only assume that camping in town parks is legal. On day two we decided to leave the main road and a most incredible thing happened. The people and traffic disappeared completely. We saw how truly beautiful is the Hokkaido countryside. Wide-open spaces, vistas, forests, these were laid out before us, as were sky-reaching mountains. Finally, after 70 km of riding up and then doing some quick praying coming down, we set up camp next to a small river. We cooked a tasty dinner and then had a quick discussion about why the streetlights and neon appeared to be so small and far away. Eventually we remembered about stars and realized that this was how things were supposed to look. We then lay back and were treated to a fine display of shooting stars until about 11 o'clock. It was then that the lightning started up in the mountains, quickly motivating us to move from the nearly dry riverbed, on which we were camped, to higher ground. The next morning found us waking up in a flat area intended not for camping, but for drying konbu (seaweed). Why is it that my wife, whom an earthquake can't dislodge from the sack before 9 or 10 in the morning, suddenly starts getting up at 5 a.m. when camping? Wouldn't it be great if you could bottle that magic and bring it home?