Kyoto Taxi Takes Passengers to Spooky Sites in Old Capital

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:00 JST, September 9, 2023

KYOTO — A taxi tour that goes around spooky places in Kyoto has been entertaining clients since 2018.

Kyoto Yokai Taxi is operated by Koshin Taxi, a taxi company in Kyoto. Courses run from two-and-a-half to four hours long.

Each course consists of four to six stops, such as Rokudo Chinnoji Temple in Higashiyama Ward, where there is a well said to lead to the underworld; and En no Matsubara in Kamigyo Ward, the site of a pine forest in the then imperial palace of Heiankyo, the ancient capital of Japan. Legend has it that oni demons lurked in the forest.

A doll of yokai monster Nurarihyon is seated in the passenger seat, and recordings of yokai stories being read are played to create a scary atmosphere. The driver also acts as a guide at each stop.

The taxi company is planning to promote its night course as a sightseeing attraction.

“The Kyoto area has many layers of various enigmatic stories,” said Noriyuki Hamada, the president of the company. “I hope people will learn about the depth of the history not found in textbooks.”