Comics Showcase: High-rise Invasion

High-rise Invasion (天空侵犯), also known as Tenkuu Shinpan is a survival horror manga with a unique setting. It is not about zombie apocalypse, a giant bug invasion or even a nuclear invasion. This is about a story about what you will do if you suddenly waked up in a bizarre world surrounded by skyscrapers and masked people chasing after your lives, in a manner much like Freddy from Friday 13th.

Comics Showcase: Signal 100

Signal 100 (Japanese: シグナル100信号) is a psychological thriller manga written by Miyatsuki Arata and drawn by Kondou Shigere. The story followed a group of high school students in a death game which they are forced into play by their homeroom teacher, whom they bullied into suicide. As a highly trained psychologist, before the teacher killed himself, he hypnotized the whole class, where they are force to kill themselves if they commit certain action. 

Comics Showcase: Hell Teacher Nube

Hell Teacher Nube/Aka. Jigoku Sensei Nube (Japanese: 地獄先生ぬ～べ～), created by the collaborative efforts of writer Sho Makura and artist Takeshi Okano is an occult classic and is probably successful horror shonen manga. 

Comics Showcase: Karada Sagashi

Are you into Japanese Horror flicks? If so, perhaps Karada Sasgashi カラダ探し (Re/Member) is for you. Originally a web novel by Welzard, it had since been serialized on Shonen Jump Plus by Murase Katsutoshi. It is a very typical Japanese ghost story, with a premise not much unlike most J-horrors.

Comics Showcase: Shibuya Kingyo

Do you like survival horrors, but got tired of the use of zombies as a trope? Let me introduce you to Shibya Kingyo 渋谷金魚 (Shibuya Goldfish), a Japanese manga comics by Hiroumi Aoi.

Contraptions: Kaonashi Coin Bank

This time round, I thought I will again talk about an extremely interesting (but not so useful) contraption. For fans of Studio Ghibi, this would come familiar. Yes, this is Kaonoshi, also known as No Face, your very lovable spirit from Hayao Miyazaki's 2001 animated feature "Spirited Away".  Recently, Studio Ghibi released a coin bank modeled on this very character. 

Landmarks: Oiran Buchi

It was said that people can sometime hear screams of women in Oiran Buchi 花魁淵 (Prostitute Gorge). The site is off Highway 411 in 山梨県 Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. 

Monsterpedia: Jinmenken

Tomb guardian from early China

Jinmenken (Traditional Chinese: 人面犬) are human-faced dogs that roams quiet streets of urban areas at night. The mutts are not known to be harmful. Supposedly, when approached, it will ask to be left alone or throw an insult before running off. Nonetheless, Jinmenken are harbingers of bad luck and it is considered a bad omen to see one.

Monsterpedia: Turbo Bachan

Turbo Bachan as depicted in the video game, Megami Tensei

Today, I am going to talk about Turbo Bachan (ターボばあちゃん). Turbo Bachan, also known as turbo-granny, is a popular urban legend originating around the highways of Mount Rokko in Hyogo Prefecture in Japan. The story soon gains traction. Soon, there were sightings all over Japan.

Landmarks: Doai Train Station

Do you think  the previous post on Kisaragi Station is creepy? 

Well, meet Doai station (土合駅)! The station has two single side platforms, one of which is located underground. Located some 70 metres (230 feet) below ground level, the underground platform makes the station (as of 2016) deepest in Japan!  According to hikers who used the station, it takes approximately 10 minutes to walk from the ticket gate down to the underground platform. If this is not troubling enough, the station is an unattended. On average, only 24 people use the station per day. 

Contraptions: Kanpai! Samurai Whisky

Kanpai! I am not into alcohol but I felt that this whisky bottle is too cool to miss out. The Nikka Gold & Gold Samurai edition was launched as a duty free exclusive. As of May 2016, the whisky bottle has a price of around 5000 Japanese Yen (around 60 Canadian Dollars). However, like any exclusive items that attracts a following , it had since found its way into various auctioning sites.

Urban Legends: Kisaragi Station (Part 2)

Here comes part 2 of my Kisaragi Station coverage. In 2011, a story came up on twitter. A twitter user claimed to board a train in Kanto that brought him to a mysterious station. There, the time was not only an hour faster than the internet he was using, but his GPS was also malfunctioning. Moreover, while there was a level 5 earthquake warning in Kanto, he felt nothing that night. 

The twitter user later found a convenience store with people inside. He entered it. When he exited, the station mysteriously disappeared. He took some photos and later uploaded them. Naturally, they received scrutiny. Many were quick to point out that the supposed train and station was similar to that of Kansai's. Attached below are some cross-analyzing photos done by the Japanese internet community. 

Most deemed the story mentioned above to be a hoax. However, there were believers who believe that Kisaragi Station is a portal to the spirit world and whom believe this story affirmed the hypothesis.

Urban Legends: Kisaragi Station (Part 1)

Ghost trains are a common theme for urban legends across the globe. Stories mostly revolve unexplained or paranormal encounters with late-night trains. The story I am going to mention below is of no exception. It is an incidence of late-night train travelling to a station not listed as existing in Japan. Similar to the train station in the animated film Spirted Away by Hayao Miyazaki, these stations are viewed as portals to the spirit world.  
Back in 2004, a 2ch (a popular social network site in Japan) user named Hatsumi posted a cry for help, saying the late-night train she had caught was not stopping at the stations it was supposed to. After passing through an unfamiliar tunnel, the train stopped around midnight at a station named "Kisaragi Station きさらぎ駅". Other users were quick to reply, saying there was no such station in Japan.

Contraptions: You Can Eat Your Prayers Literally, "The Sutra Noodles"

A noodle shop  from japan had released their own Buddhist sutra noodles. The noodle shop, Nitta Osamu So 新田乃庄, located in Gunma Prefecture 群馬縣, specialized in producing Okkirikomi おきりこみ, a regional variation of the Japanese udon noodles, cut into thin and thick strips.