Cheap houses are often for sale in rural Japan, but did you know that, besides the pitfalls of upkeep costs, there are also some hidden secrets?
All the following are true stories submitted to Japanese websites like Note, Ameblo, and 5ch. We've selected the three most terrifying ones to share. Not for the faint of heart!
First Paragraph: Yamanashi Prefecture · Minobu Town · Haunted House Converted from a Hot Spring Inn
(Original post 2023, Note views 120k+)
“The house was a small post-war inn, vacant for nearly 20 years, listed on the Vacant House Bank for ¥15,000. Seeing it had its own hot spring source, I signed the contract on the spot.
On the third night after moving in, I was blissfully soaking in the hot spring when suddenly, the wooden bathroom door was knocked three times from the inside.
Naked at the time, I nearly slipped in fright.
I opened the door—no one there, only steam rising.
I reassured myself it was just the pipes.
Then the next day, at the exact same time, three knocks again.
On the third day... after three knocks, the door lock clicked open by itself.
I rushed to ask the 90-year-old village matriarch that very night. She calmly replied:
‘Oh, that one... Long ago, a young woman hanged herself in the bathhouse here. She loves to come out knocking in summer, looking for someone to bathe with her.’
I died on the spot.
Now that the house is listed on Airbnb, guests always leave just one comment:
【Hearing someone knocking from the bathroom late at night】
Second Paragraph: Nagano Prefecture · Matsumoto Suburbs · 1-Yen Bungalow
(Ameblo Blog, 2024, 500,000+ views)
“A 1-yen house with 400 square meters of land—I felt like I’d hit the jackpot.
Behind the house was an old well buried in weeds. When I first spotted it, I joked it was a wishing well.
Then on the tenth night, rhythmic footsteps began echoing through the ceiling—“thump, thump, thump.”
Thinking it was a rat, I laid out rat poison—but caught nothing.
The footsteps grew closer, moving from the attic → to the first-floor living room → finally stopping at my bedroom door.
One night, I clearly heard someone whispering outside my door:
‘Well... well... (Well... well...)’
The next morning, I mustered my courage to lift the well cover—
The well water reflected a deathly pale woman's face, smiling at me.
I scrambled back to Tokyo, relisting the house on the Vacant House Bank—still at 1 yen.
To this day, no one dares take it off my hands."
Third Segment: Gifu Prefecture · Hida Takayama · Snow Mountain Cabin
(New post January 2025, 20K+ likes on note, couple featured in real-life footage)
“My husband and I bought this mountain cabin for ¥50,000. It has hot spring piping ready to be connected, and we plan to renovate it into a guesthouse.”
During renovations, the master craftsman quietly told us: ‘Twenty years ago, a fire broke out here. One person burned to death—not even all the bones were found.’
We didn't think much of it.
What truly terrified us happened on the night of the first heavy snowfall last December.
At midnight, my husband suddenly shook me awake: ‘Someone's calling your name!’
Half-asleep, I listened—and there really was a man's voice calling out in the snow:
“Hey—! Anyone there—!”
The voice came from just five meters outside the window, but when we shone our flashlight out, there wasn't a single footprint in the snow.
The next day, we discovered the bathtub filled with crimson water.
When the shrine priest came to inspect, he declared: ‘The spirits of the fire victims were drawn here by the heat of your hot springs.’
Finally, we dug out half a charred human skeleton from the closet...
Now the house looks stunning in daytime photos, but we dare not stay there at night.
Anyone interested? 50,000 yen for the property, hot spring rights included, shipping paid."
Japan currently has 9 million vacant homes, projected to exceed 10 million by 2030.
Old houses priced as cheaply as cabbages—1 yen, 10,000 yen, 100,000 yen—are plentiful enough to pick from. Friends planning to buy property in rural Japan, be warned...
Good night. Remember to lock your doors—and the bathhouse doors. (Especially the one inside.)
