Take part in a stamp rally as you walk through with that guidebook
“Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro” is one of the representative examples of manga. A story of the hero Kitaro who battles evil demons, it began in 1954 as a picture-story show before being adapted into various forms such as a manga, an anime, and a movie during a period of over 50 years. After arriving at Sakaiminato Station, first purchase your Yokai Guidebook. Each of the 174 yokai characters on Mizuki Shigeru Road will be listed with their photos and descriptions. There are pasteboards available for the stamp rally, and when you get stamps for 37 of the yokai, you will receive a Certificate of Completion. Yokai Shrine which is located in the center of the shopping district was built in 2000. Wash your hands before prayer at Medama Oyaji Fountain where the character of Medama Oyaji (Eyeball Father) spins around from the force of the water spurting out. The omikuji fortune slips brought out by mechanical doll yokai are also fun. At the very back of the shopping district is Mizuki Shigeru Museum. Mizuki’s manga are introduced to you all at once which you can enjoy to your heart’s content. If you want to catch your breath, there is the Kappa (Water Sprite) Fountain. Just watching the yokai being at home is relaxing.
The world of the yokai spreads out by train, plane and ferry
All of the 16 stations of the JR Sakai Line have signs and station names such as Kitaro Station and Nezumi Otoko Station, named after the characters of “Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro”. And there are 6 kinds of Kitaro trains running. The ferry running between Sakaiminato and Okinoshima Island is called the Kitaro Ferry with 14 bronze statues of yokai placed on the island. Also, Yonago Airport has also been dubbed Yonago Kitaro Airport so the world of yokai has been steadily expanding.