The Mysterious Japan

Episode 21: Bones in the Haunted Park

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.

Episode 20: The Most Haunted Place in Japan

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.

Episode 19: The Lingering Ghosts of Hotel New Japan

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.

Episode 18: In The Face of Fiery Death

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.

Episode 17: The Ashes of Error

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.

Episode 16: The Legends of Akasaka

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?

Episode 15: Bizarre and Funny Japan

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.

Episode 14: The Curse of Mihara

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.

Episode 13: Mount Mihara's Siren Call for Self Immolation

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 Volcano."

Episode 12: The Dark Legends of Izu Oshima

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.