Uncanny Japan

What if the meal sitting in those beautiful lacquered boxes held messages from the gods? In Japan, osechi-ryōri isn't just New Year's food—it's a sacred offering. Each dish carries specific wishes: black beans for health, herring roe for prosperity, lotus root for clear vision in ...  Show more

Don't point at the moon—you might wake up without your ears. In Japan, the moon rabbit isn't just making mochi. Its image was placed there by the gods to honor an act of pure sacrifice, a Buddhist tale that traveled from India through China and transformed along the way. In thi ...  Show more

A blind musician is summoned to perform in the darkness. But who is listening? And what terrible price awaits a moment's oversight? Today I read to you one of Lafcadio Hearn's most famous Japanese ghost stories: "Mimi-nashi Hōichi" or "The Earless Hōichi." Please Note: Some of th ...  Show more

🎃 HALLOWEEN SPECIAL 🎃 This year's Halloween episode is a full-length audio drama based on the urban legend of Sukima-onna—the woman who watches from the gaps. An American English teacher in Japan loses everything: his job, his apartment, his passport. Drunk and desperate during ...  Show more

We're getting closer to Halloween. How about another ghost story? Ame-onna, the rain woman - a haggard looking thing, soaked to the bone, wandering rainy nights. There's lore about her, rumors, theories... but she doesn't have her own ghost story. So I fixed that. First, I'll tel ...  Show more