Explore Japan by Prefecture
We list 3 places in Hokkaido where yokai, cryptids and legends are told or sighted, and 3 related encyclopedia entries.
Please note Trespassing on private property or restricted areas is prohibited by law. Please be considerate of local residents.
Positions on the map are a rough guide to the area where a legend or sighting is set. Most pins are placed at representative points of a municipality or prefecture (outside Japan, a city position rounded to about 10 km, or the country), not at the exact place.
Municipality points: Geolonia address data (CC BY 4.0), based on the Address Base Registry (Digital Agency of Japan) / Country points: Natural Earth
A Japanese doll kept at Mannenji Temple in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, whose hair is said to grow. It belonged to Kikuko, a little girl who died young, and after her death the doll's bobbed hair began to grow, it is said. It is one of the most famous mysterious dolls in Japan.
A lake cryptid said to live in Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido. Sightings followed one after another in the 1970s, and it was named after Nessie. Theories say it is driftwood, swimming deer or waterfowl mistaken for a creature.
Little people of Ainu folklore, whose name is said to mean "people under the butterbur leaves" in the Ainu language. They once traded with the Ainu but are said to have left after being seen. It is one of the best-known legends of Hokkaido.
