The city of Chofu

Originally coming from (as far as I’m aware) Japanese folklore, Japan has what are known as 妖怪 (yokai). If you’ve ever read any posts on my facebook, twitter, instagram, or read any other blogs I’ve written then you may have heard about yokai. Yokai are often referred to as Japanese monsters, but seeing as the most famous Japanese monster Godzilla isn’t a yokai, and seeing as there are many yokai that take the shape of humans, animals, and even inanimate objects, explaining yokai as a Japanese monster isn’t 100% correct. For those wanting to learn more about yokai I highly  recommending watching this Japanology Plus episode about yokai, I also recommend reading this book about yokai, written by translator Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt. 

Japanese cartoons, known in Japanese as アニメ (anime), which is an abbreviation of the word アニメーション (animation), are incredibly popular all over the world. Many people come to Japan each year because of their interest in these cartoons, wanting to learn more, and to buy goods that aren’t available in their own country. For those Japanese cartoon fans you may already know this, but there are even cartoons based upon yokai. Out of all of these yokai based cartoons the most popular and well known is without a doubt ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 (Ge ge ge no Kitaro) written by the famous Shigeru Mizuki. 

Originally born in Osaka and raised in the city of Sakai minato in Totori prefecture, Shigeru Mizuki eventually moved to the city of Chofu, on the edge of Tokyo just outside of the 23 wards. Here, one can come into contact with the yokai that appeared in Shigeru’s work while experiencing a more traditional side of Japan. In the city of Chofu you can visit the 鬼太郎茶屋 (Kitaro Chaya), a cafe/gift shop full of all the characters and various yokai that appear in Ge ge ge no Kitaro. I myself have gained an interest in yokai over the years and thoroughly enjoy visiting the city of Chofu. Only a 20 minute train ride away from Shinjuku Chofu is a very easy city to visit. If you have the time to spare on your trip to Japan, why not take a visit to the city Chofu and learn more about these animals, humans, inanimate objects, and so on from Japanese folklore?

You see many buildings such as this in the city of Chofu, buildings that look as if they're 民家 (minka), a type of private house.

I wasn't able to see as much of the changing colors of the autumn leaves as I would have liked to last year, so I was quite pleased when I saw this tree.

I stopped of at the well known 深大寺 (jindaiji), a local temple in the area. Here I got another 御朱印 (goshuin), a type of seal/stamp written at temples and shrines.

This picture below is of the goshuin itself which I had written in my 御朱印帳 (goshuincho).

At this store I made my own ornament in which to place chopsticks upon while eating, known in Japanese as a 箸置き (hashioki).

Pictured below on the right is the hashioki that I made!

The city of Chofu is known for it's soba, a type of noodle dish. The soba restaurant Yusui is apparently well known, which is where I had lunch.

I also enjoyed a locally made Jindaiji beer! Yum! 🍺

This is the Kitaro chaya.

Below is both Kitaro himself and Nezumi otoko.

This is the yokai known as 目目連 (moku moku ren).

No matter where I go, if there's 抹茶 (matcha) I must drink it.

If I remember correctly this is ice cream, a sweet been paste known as 餡こ (anko), and 餅 (mochi), a type of rice cake.

A type of doll known in Japanese as こけし人形 (kokeshi ningyo) in the shape of the characters from Ge ge ge no Kitaro.

Ge ge ge no Kitaro toilet paper.

Below is a picture of Shigeru Mizuki himself.

These are his seven ideals for happiness. I particularly like number 1, the idea of not doing something just to succeed, to be become well known, or to simply win. I image he'd like everyone to undertake something they simply enjoy, I like that mindset.

These are all the yokai across Japan!

Me dressed as the main character from Ge ge ge no Kitaro, Kitaro!