Haunted houses bring a chill to summer in Japan

In Japan, one way to cool down during the hot summer is to visit haunted houses (“obakeyashiki”), which are especially popular in July and August. Japan has a long history of telling chilling ghost stories in summer, so it’s no surprise that haunted houses draw legions of fans who don’t mind a good scare.

Some "obakeyashiki” only open in summer. Most of them are to be found at amusement parks and sometimes you need to pay an extra fee to enter the haunted house. Here are a few recommended places.

Saikyo Senritsu Meikyu or Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear (Fuji-Q Highland) They say don’t try this one if you have a weak heart. “Saikyo" means the scariest, so naturally, it is said to be the scariest haunted house in Japan. Once you enter the Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear, it takes almost one hour to get out. About 20% of visitors usually quit before reaching the end.

Location: 5-6-1 Shin-nishihara Fuji-Yoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture Cost: 500 yen (excluding park entrance fee) Time: Depends on the day

Daiba Kaiki Gakko (DECKS) Story: Over 40 years ago, there was a school where many students mysteriously committed suicide one after another. The school was torn down; however, it is said that you can still hear the voices of those unfortunate students.

Location : DECKS Tokyo Beach Seaside Mall 4F 1-6-1 Daiba Minato-ku, Tokyo Cost: 800 yen Time: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (last entrance 8:45 p.m.)

Asakusa Hanayashiki (Tokyo) Hanayashiki is the oldest amusement park in Japan (opened in 1853), so this haunted house is historical as well. Inside you’ll encounter a vengeful ghost in a kimono.

Location: 2-28-1 Asakusa Taito-ku Tokyo Cost: 1,000 yen for adults, 500 yen for children plus free pass or ride tickets Time: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Toei Kyoto Studio Park (Kyoto) This amusement park has an Edo era film set used for making movies or historical dramas, so there are plenty of realistic life-size masks, corpse mannequins, as well as well-rehearsed actors are waiting to scare you.

Location: 10 Uzumasa-Higashi-Hachioka-cho Ukyo-ku Kyoto Cost : 500 yen for adults, 300 yen for children Time : 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Tokyo Dome City
Baby’s Hell is open from July 15 to Sept 25. Depending on the time, two levels of thrills are available; scary version (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and scarier version (5 p.m. to 10 p.m.). You are required to go through it holding a baby on your arm.

Location: 1-3-61 Koraku Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo Cost: 1,030 yen Time: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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