The setting of the plot is loosely based on HER Interactive video game Nancy Drew: Shadow at the Water's edge. This is in no way officially affiliated with HER Interactive or Nancy Drew.

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​Since 1775.

Shiga Prefecture, Japan.

Currently owned and operated by the Shimizu family.

 

Famous for hospitality, beauty, and exceptional comfort.

Infamous for spine-chilling hauntings, and an alleged curse from the grave.

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Surrounded by breathtaking views you won't soon forget, the Ryokan Hiei traditional Japanese inn and spa opens the door to a simpler time. It is perfect for the business traveler hoping to experience historical Japan, the lone wanderer looking for safe rest, or the family in search of that perfect getaway.

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Ryokan Hiei. Discover Japan, discover you.

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It can only be expected that an almost 250 year-old countryside inn might be the center of many ghost stories and legends...

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But even legends have some ground in reality. Surely there must be something which draws the interest of paranormal investigation aficionados from around the world. Some claim the land is charged with energy, aided on by the natural flowing water. Others attribute the ghostly on-goings to a curse.

 

Where history and old tales begin to blur is exactly where you might realize that fact can be far, far scarier than fiction. Here are some of the key tales and legends surrounding the Roykan Hiei. It's up to you to decide whether it is worth spending a night...

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1571 - Oda Nobunaga's Razing of the Temples

 

The distant sound of slaughtered monks moaning and screaming outside the Hiei gardens on quiet nights.

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In the mid to late 16th century, Mt. Hiei and the surrounding territories was a haven for developing religion and religious figures. Upon the mountain, the Enryaku-ji temple was founded in 788, and brought a new wave of Buddhist beliefs to the lands. When the legendary feudal lord Nobunaga rose to conquest in 1571, he stormed the mountain and destroyed the temples and the people, in order to seize power and a greater following. Eventually the temples were rebuilt and the freedom of religion, especially Buddhism, returned to the feud-ravished lands. This is a tale greatly steeped with historical accuracy. The Ryokan Hiei, built about 200 years after this event, sits on consecrated land at the base of Mt. Hiei. Perhaps it isn't so far-fetched to attribute the disembodied moans and screams from the gardens to the terrible tragedy that befell the religious figures who once lived on the very same land. Many claim that the slain monks cast a curse to the lands of Mt. Hiei, forever trapping the souls of those who will die there after them.

 

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1866 - The Flood Plain

 

A young girl crying and grabbing at the hands and pant legs of guests who walk the hallways alone at night.

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Tragedy befell eight year old Sera Yumeji on what was supposed to be one of the happiest times of her life. A well-documented tale of a flash-flood's horrific accident, Sera drowned to death not a few yards from Ryokan Hiei's front door. On an overcast day after school, on her eighth birthday itself, Sera and her friends decided to take a trip up to the Mt. Hiei temples and leave a prayer wish tag for the gods. Small and unaccompanied by an adult, they were not aware of the impending rainstorm that would soon wash over the area. Trapped on old slippery dirt roads when the thunder and rain began to come upon them, it was reported that Sera became separated from her classmates while running for shelter. She was not found until the following morning when the storm cleared, her small body washed up in thick mud.

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2006 - Ryokan Hiei's Onsen Tragedy

 

A pale woman with sunken eyes, often seen wearing a wet, white bath robe, and crying/gurgling. Hotspots: all first-floor bathroom mirrors; men's onsen bath tub; women's onsen changing room; second-floor balconies; upper lobby landing.

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Kasumi Shimizu was only thirty-eight years old at the time of her tragic passing. At the time a worker and the heiress of the Ryokan Hiei, Kasumi was scrubbing clean one of the onsen tubs when she fell, hit her head on the stonework, and tumbled into the water below where she subsequently drowned. Her body was found not an hour later by her mother, Takae Nagai. It was a shocking and unexpected tragedy, but one that many still believes is rooted in the old curse of Mt. Hiei. It is rumored that for the entire week prior to Kasumi's untimely death, she would comment multiple times to her mother and the other innkeepers that she could hear a little girl crying her name in the first-floor hallways. Whether or not this is true remains a mystery, but there are some investigators who are convinced that Kasumi did not slip, but was instead pushed to her death by the spirit of a young girl who misses her mother, and chose Kasumi to fulfill that role. To this day, Mrs. Nagai claims that the ghost of her daughter is haunting the ryokan on a nightly basis, though she will never openly speak about this to anyone outside of her family. Oddly enough, the ghost of a soaking wet woman in robes is seen throughout the building. And those who have been (un)lucky enough to see her, say she bears a startling resemblance to the late Kasumi Shimizu.

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Are you brave enough to book your room?