Explore Japan by Prefecture
We list 7 places in Kanagawa where yokai, cryptids and legends are told or sighted, and 5 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
Legends of a giant said to have made mountains and lakes, told all over Japan. He is said to have made Mount Fuji or dug Lake Biwa, and hollows and ponds said to be his footprints remain in many places. He is also said to be the origin of the place name Daita in Tokyo.
One of Japan's best-known yokai: a red-faced, long-nosed figure dressed as a mountain ascetic who flies through the sky. Tied to mountain gods and the Shugendo faith, it is linked with sacred mountains across Japan.
An urban legend about the children's song "Akai Kutsu" (Red Shoes). There are rumors that the girl taken away by a foreigner was kidnapped, or that the "foreigner" in the lyrics was really a "great-grandfather." A sad true story is told about the girl said to be its model.
A children's song about an exchange between a parent and child walking the narrow path to a Tenjin shrine and the gatekeeper. Because it says going is fine but coming back is scary, many dark meanings have been suggested, such as abandoning children, human sacrifice and checkpoint inspections.
A sacred creature with a long, snake-like body, horns and scales that governs water and rain. It came to Japan from China, where belief in the dragon god Ryujin, master of lakes, rivers and ponds, took deep root.
