Photo/Illutration A young fan of “kappa” helps wash Gajiro during a specialized event organized at Tsujikawayama Park in Fukusaki, Hyogo Prefecture, in September 2023. (Toru Amemiya)

FUKUSAKI, Hyogo Prefecture—An eerie initiative to transform the hometown of famed folklorist Kunio Yanagita into a haven for “yokai” ghouls is working wonders for local tourism, drawing more than 700,000 sightseers here in fiscal 2023.

The number of tourists has nearly tripled since the town first built a “kappa” (aquatic imp) sculpture in a pond 10 years ago.

According to an estimate by Fukusaki’s department of regional development, the town received 701,298 visitors in fiscal 2023, up approximately 97,000 from 604,379 in the previous fiscal year.

IF YOU BUILD IT...

In particular, Tsujikawayama Park, famed for the statue of a kappa named Gajiro that appears to be rising from a pond, attracted 167,000 tourists, 28,000 more than the year before.

More than 80,000 people came to Fukusaki specifically to visit the roughly 20 yokai sculptures that can be found lounging on public benches across the town—27,000 more visitors than the previous year.

As many as 56,000 visitors were spotted at the Tsujikawa tourism and exchange center, too, where yokai merchandise is available, alongside local delicacies.

In 2013, Fukusaki embarked on a full-fledged redevelopment project featuring the yokai illustrated in “Tono Monogatari” (Tales of Tono) and other publications by Yanagita (1875-1962).

The number of visitors has risen gradually from less than 300,000 since then. The figure exceeded 400,000 in fiscal 2016, when the first yokai benches were installed.

Although tourism was predicted to stall during the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 600,000 sightseers visited Fukusaki in fiscal 2022, and interest continues to rise.

A representative of the town’s regional development department said, “Gajiro got a lot of media coverage, mainly on TV, in 2023, causing a dramatic increase in the number of families who make day trips to our town to meet the yokai.”

“More and more foreign visitors are coming here too, after learning about us on social media,” the official said.

MORE YOKAI AHEAD

Fukusaki town is planning to spend 18 million yen ($114,000) this fiscal year on improving its yokai-related facilities, hoping to revitalize local communities with the help of those imaginary creatures.

Using Hyogo Prefecture’s subsidy and the hometown tax payment system, the municipal government will install its 22nd yokai bench, a lively trick art attraction and new playground equipment, and will renovate existing sculptures as well.

The new bench will feature “Sunakake Babaa” (the Sand-throwing Hag) and cost about 2.5 million yen.

The trick art attraction, costing 1 million yen to install, will use an optical illusion to delight visitors at the tourist exchange center in front of Fukusaki Station along the JR Bantan Line. 

The statue of Gajiro popping out of the park’s pond will be renovated for 2 million yen.

But the highlight of all these features will be the playground equipment installed at Tsujikawayama Park, where Gajiro and other yokai can be found. Details have yet to be released, but the attraction is said to cost 9 million yen and be modeled after a kappa’s body part.

In the past, Fukusaki used 25 million yen from the central government’s local revitalization promotion subsidy to install a Gajiro sculpture in a cylindrical water tank by Fukusaki Station.

This year, the town decided to commit large funds to yokai-related projects to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Gajiro’s debut, although Gajiro is not an official mascot of the local government.

During a town assembly session in March, Fukusaki Mayor Yoshiharu Osaki expressed hopes of sending Gajiro to Tono, Iwate Prefecture, where Yanagita amassed folklore for his book “Tono Monogatari.”

“We will be working to make Gajiro’s first visit to Tono city a reality,” said Osaki.

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