By ARATA NAMIMA/ Staff Writer
October 15, 2020 at 07:00 JST
The cover of the postcard-sized joint ticket package for three museums in Shimane, Tottori and Hiroshima prefectures features Amabie drawn by Shigeru Mizuki and other "yokai" ghouls and hobgoblins. (Arata Namima)
MATSUE--For those into the spooky side of life, a cheap ticket package is now available for people to visit three museums in western Japan that focus on "yokai" goblins and other supernatural phenomena.
The tour starts at the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, that is dedicated to the works of Yakumo Koizumi, the name Hearn (1850-1904) adopted after taking Japanese citizenship.
Hearn is best remembered for his books about Japanese culture, especially his collections of legends and ghost stories featuring "mujina" (badger), "yuki-onna" (snow woman) and other supernatural beings.
It then moves on to the Mizuki Shigeru Museum in Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, that features one of the nation's most representative manga artists, Shigeru Mizuki, known for horror comics.
The final stop is the Miyoshi Mononoke Museum in Miyoshi, Hiroshima Prefecture, which opened in April last year to showcase 5,000 or so materials, including picture scrolls, "nishiki-e" prints and other crafts amassed by folklorist and yokai researcher Koichi Yumoto.
The joint project was created at the initiative of the Matsue Travel Association.
"We want to present a new sightseeing route by promoting the so-called Mononoke Kaido, which connects the three prefectures in the Chugoku region sharing the common interest of 'supernatural phenomena,'" said Akihiko Hada, 62, who serves as tourism producer at the travel association.
The ticket package, 1,000 yen ($9.50), including tax, works out to be 710 yen cheaper than the total admission costs for the three museums.
Featuring the plague-fighting monster Amabie drawn by Mizuki and other yokai on the cover, the package is bundled with three illustrated sheets that can be used as postcards.
A total of 600 copies were published for distribution at each of the museums.
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