The Mysterious Japan

The Mysterious Japan

Stories of Japan’s Dark History, Unbelievable Folklore, Ghost Stories, and Urban Legends.

Episodes

June 15, 2025 26 mins

The shocking and terrifying conclusion to one of the infamous haunted doll stories in Japan, responsible for more deaths, injuries and terror than the Annabelle doll in America.

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This episode tells the story of the Ikiningyo, or Living Doll. Generally considered the most horrific of documented doll possessions in modern Japanese history, this tale is part one of the experience of comedian Inagawa, whose horrific experiences with this doll span over two decades. Though perhaps the most well known haunted doll story in Japan, Inagawa's story has never been fully brought to an English speaking audience until n...

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May 4, 2025 27 mins

Every nation has tales of haunted or cursed dolls. Japan is no exception. This episode explores stories of an urban legend of Licca-chan dolls, Okiku the haunted doll, and Wara-Ningyo, the straw dolls used for curses.

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Three urban legends in Japan strike fear into the hearts of middle and high schoolers. Hear these legends and their mysterious origins: Teke Teke, The Slit-Faced woman, and Kashima-san.

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This episode examines stories of the Hibagon, the Japanese Bigfoot believed to reside in the mountains north of Hiroshima.

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January 25, 2025 30 mins

Even Japan has legends of a hairy bipedal monster. This episode examines several tales and legends regarding the "Japanese Bigfoot."

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November 3, 2024 34 mins

Ghost stories abount in Toyama Park, from spirit orbs to the ghost of a man in the restroom. Tombs of the ancient dead have been found, and the samurai known as the God of War is enshrined in the Shinto Shrine here. Listen to these tales and decide for yourself if Toyama Park is the most haunted place in Japan.

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October 20, 2024 26 mins

Dr. Ishii plots to destroy America even as his Unit 731 operations kill tens of thousands of Chinese. But perhaps his fall from grace and his last human experiment form the most interesting part of his tale.

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September 7, 2024 31 mins

Unit 731 rises in Pingfang in World War II to covertly perform human experimentation, resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands. The barbarity of their experiments defy human comprehension. Hear the tale of the Japanese doctor who used Chinese prisoners to study frostbite, and his fall from grace decades later. 

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August 14, 2024 28 mins

Dr. Shiro Ishii became known as Dr. Death for leading thousands to their death in human experimentation during World War II. This episode describes the rise of Dr. Ishii, the formation of what would become the infamous Unit 731 in Manchuria at a place called "The Fortress," and a daring escape by Chinese prisoners that led to the fall of the Fortress.

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July 14, 2024 30 mins

Bones discovered in Toyama Park in 1989 ignite controversy that hundreds of victims of human experimentation had their remains unceremoniously buried in mass graves under the park, and spark discussion about secret tunnels under the park used for human experimentation.

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Why is a park in Tokyo considered the most haunted place in Japan? Listen to the story of the ghosts, the test of courage, the 17th Century ghost story, and the unnameable monster residing within.

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This episode presents the karmic fate that befell the evil owner of Hotel New Japan and the many ghost stories that came after the deadly fire.

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Episode 18 recounts the harrowing true tales of firefighters as they attempt to put out the deadliest hotel fire in Japanese history at the cursed site of Hotel New Japan.

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April 21, 2024 30 mins

Hear stories full of daring escapes, bumbling employees untrained on procedures, and a fire jumping from room to room as it develops into the second most deadly fire in the history of Japan, resulting in 9 long hours of hell on earth for the 103 guests on the 9th and 10th Floors but incredible and unbelievable true stories.

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April 5, 2024 44 mins

Legends of a strange creature, ghosts, plots, murder, and a demon portal are explored at the sight where a deadly hotel fire would occur. Have these centuries of evil opened the gate at the spot where Shinto adherents believe there is a portal to hell?

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March 24, 2024 38 mins

This episode explores bizarre marriage and adoption practices and Japan's medieval obsession with flatulence. The cultural practice of marrying sisters and adopting mistresses is mystifying to the Western audience. And the medieval period showed bizarre practices concerning farts, from such shame that a public fart could mean ritual suicide to satirical fart battle scrolls, and the birth of the world's first professional flatulist.

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March 8, 2024 45 mins

With centuries of tragedy and evil befalling its shores, many claim the island of Oshima and its volcano Mihara are cursed places of tatari. Authorities try desperately to stop people from throwing themselves in the volcano; hear some harrowing tales, and the story of a hero who saved thousands of lives. But also listen to the bizarre events that lend credence to the idea of a curse.

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In 1933 Japan, lesbian relationships were taboo, and two young lovers fell victim to intolerance. After one throws herself into the lava filled crater of the Mihara volcano, others suffering discrimination, rejection, and forbidden love follow suit, but as the suicide count increases to four per day, over 1500 visitors each day visit in morbid curiosity, and businessmen exploit the plague of suicides at the so-called "Suicide Volca...

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February 11, 2024 34 mins

Once a penal colony, the remote island of Izu Oshima harbors legends of being a supernatural and cursed place. This episode examines three dark stories from the island's history and their development into ghastly legends of ghosts and monsters.

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