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Haunted Houses In and Around Tokyo

Test Your Courage With These Six Bone-Chilling Attractions

By Rachel Crane |
July 25, 2024 |
In Season, Out & About

Haunted houses in Japan are uniquely hair-raising. Vengeful ghosts, creepy children and human experiments gone wrong are just some of the figures lurking inside waiting to frighten you. Enter, if you dare.

In Japan, summer is the season for all things haunted. While the Obon holiday in August celebrates friendly spirits, Japanese people also like to take the edge off the oppressive summer heat with more sinister ghost stories. One popular way to experience a cooling dose of fear is visiting an obakeyashiki (haunted houses) in Tokyo.

While Japanese obakeyashiki share many things in common with haunted houses in the West, there is a distinct cultural flavor to the spine-tingling attractions, which have become something of an art form. They range from kitschy and family-friendly to genuinely nightmare-inducing. Here’s our ranking of six of Tokyo’s most terrifying.

Yureido (Yokohama Cosmo World)

Yureido, meaning ‘hall of ghosts,’ is a dark ride that takes you on a tour of a very haunted old Japanese house. Before boarding, you can choose your fear level from one to three. One being ‘a little scary’ and three being ‘as scary as hell’! The appealing exterior gives way to a genuinely eerie world of ghostly and grotesque animatronics with a classic Japanese atmosphere.

Since Yureido is a ride rather than a walk-through attraction, it requires a lot less courage than other haunted houses on this list. This makes it a great attraction for horror-curious kids or anyone who wants to dip a toe into the world of obakeyashiki without pushing their limits. You even get a free photo at the end, so make sure to scream!

Ticket Price: ¥700 (Admission to Cosmo World is free.)
Fear Factor: 2/5

Edo’s Test of Courage (Asakusa Hanayashiki)

Asakusa Hanayashiki is Tokyo’s oldest theme park, and its attractions have a distinctly retro appeal. Like Yureido, this obakeyashiki has a traditional Japanese theme inspired by figures from spooky folk tales. There are even stories of real ghosts being sighted among the creaky animatronics that inhabit the house.

If the idea of encountering genuine spirits doesn’t put you off, then you’ll find the scares here are a little more family-friendly than in most haunted houses. It still takes some nerve to push open the sliding doors and find your way along the darkened corridors, though, so be prepared.

Ticket Price: ¥100 plus park admission; ¥1200 for adults and ¥600 for children under 12.
Fear Factor: 3/5

Onryo Zashiki (Tokyo Dome City)

Designed by legendary obakeyashiki producer Hirofumi Gomi in collaboration with digital art collective TeamLab, Tokyo Dome’s Onryo Zashiki is where things start getting really creepy. The central story has changed over the years, but the current theme is ‘The Cursed Glass Window.’ So, beware of the window panes!

The storytelling and attention to detail in this haunted house are superb. You might be tempted to slow down and admire the imaginative set design if it weren’t for the puppetry-induced jump scares hurrying you along the route. If you want to tone down the fear, you can choose to carry a safety lantern, which will ward off the scariest spirits.

For summer 2024, another classic Hirofumi Gomi haunted house has been resurrected at Tokyo Dome City. Baby Hell first appeared in 1996, inspiring countless other obakeyashiki with its mission-style format. It will run at Tokyo Dome until September 1, 2024.

Ticket Price: Onryou Zashiki: ¥1050. Baby Hell: ¥1500. (Admission to Tokyo Dome City is free.)
Fear Factor: 3.5/5

Dr. Edgar’s Cursed Collection (Yokohama Cosmo World)

Cosmo World’s second haunted attraction is inspired more by Western horror than typical obakeyashiki. The setting is the laboratory of mad scientist Dr. Edgar, who likes to perform grim human experiments.

This haunted house is a little less richly imagined than others on this list, with more of a stripped-back feel. It’s possible to see the seams even as you’re gripped by terror. But the presence of live cast members lurking in the shadows amps up the fear factor. Hence meaning, this attraction is not for the faint of heart.

Ticket Price: ¥500 (Admission to Cosmo World is free.)
Fear Factor: 4/5

Odaiba Mysterious School (Decks Tokyo Beach)

Tucked away in the corner of this shopping and amusement complex is a sinister gem. The story here centers on an abandoned school where the students have mysteriously committed suicide. You have been tasked with releasing the souls of the children, but first, you’ll have to get past their restless ghosts, some of whom seem to know your name…

The mission element of this attraction heightens the immersion, as does the brilliant sound design, which echoes unnervingly with children’s voices. What’s more, you have to make your way through almost total darkness, with only a flickering torch to light your way. You can opt for a less intense version of the experience, but if not then be prepared for chilling scares that come from all sides in the darkness. The experience is also available in English.

Ticket Price: ¥800
Fear Factor: 4.5/5

Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear (Fuji Q Highland)

Fuji Q Highland’s Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear is often ranked as Japan’s most terrifying haunted house. Set in an abandoned rural hospital with a history of conducting gruesome experiments on patients, the decrepit building is filled with zombie-like figures ready to chase you down the long, dark corridors—all 900 meters of them!

This enormous attraction supposedly takes up to 50 minutes to complete. While some visitors have reported getting out in half the time, the Labyrinth is still the longest obakeyashiki around. Escape doors line the route through the hospital and many visitors bow out when the horror becomes too much. You can also purchase a glow-in-the-dark omamori (protective charm) at the entrance to keep the zombies at bay.

Ticket Price: ¥4,000 for a group of four with a one-day pass for Fuji Q Highland. ¥8,000 without a one-day pass.
Fear Factor: 5/5

Want to read some spooky Japanese stories?

Are you in the mood for some spooky fun this summer? Visit these haunted houses in Tokyo—and try not to scream!

Comments

Mel Bushe says:

July 25, 2024 at 8:36 pm

What a fabulous resume of the availability of such scary attractions.
I shall definitely be visiting some of these, when next in Japan.
Brilliant, thank you.