Monster Hunting in Yokai Street, Kyoto Japan

October 20, 2021 Tokyo

Kyoto is known for its beautiful temples and beautiful geishas, but be careful if you wander the backstreets of one neighborhood – there are monsters! There’s a whole road full of them. Check out our guide to Kyoto’s cool Monster Street, also known as Yokai Street. It’s one of the most enjoyable things to do in Kyoto (that isn’t related to temples).

Ichijo Yokai Street – Meet the Japanese Monsters , located on the south side of Kyoto’s Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, is a one-of-a-kind shopping street. Around 400 meters east and west of Taishogun Hachi-jinja Shrine, Yokai Street is lined with shops.

Yokai refers to monsters whose motifs are supernatural phenomena beyond human knowledge, mysterious powers that cause them, and extraordinary phenomena.

Once upon a time in Japan, when a paranormal phenomenon or a bizarre incident occurred, people feared it was Yokai’s work

Located at General Shopping Street Ichijo Yokai Street 602-8346 Kyoto, Kamigyo Ward, 一条通

When you enter the street, you will be greeted by famous Yokai such as Kappa, Hitotsume-kozo and Rokurokubi.

Yokai Event

Once a year, Yokai Street holds a masquerade event called Ichijo Hyakki Yakou. Many people dress up in costumes and enjoy the monster parade.

In the past, this shopping street was in decline, and real Yokai were likely to appear. Yokai Street was started to make shopping districts prosperous, but it is now so crowded that tens of thousands of tourists visit during events.

Yokai also disguises itself in various ways depending on the products of each shop, such as bread and futons.

Yokai Ramen

You can eat unique ramen at Shokudo Inoue located in the center of the street.

It is called Yokai Ramen and is sprinkled with black soup, purple noodles and apparently spicy red powder. There is no doubt that you will become more cautious before eating.

But if you try it, it will be so easy to eat, light and delicious that you cannot imagine from its appearance.

Actually, the black color of the soup is bamboo charcoal, the purple color of the noodles is gardenia seed, and the red powder is paprika, not red pepper.

Yokai Croquette

You can eat delicious croquettes at the Yamada Fry specialty shop where there is a croquette monster in front of the shop.

The most popular is the beef croquette made with domestic Japanese beef, but there are a wide variety. For example, there are rice croquettes with tomato fried rice and cheese, and camembert cheese croquettes.

Please pay attention to Yokai Croquette among them. It features a black coating, and there are 3 flavors, green matcha flavor, red kimchi flavor, and yellow curry and cheese flavor.

They’ll fry it right in front of you after you order. I recommend you to buy not only 1 but 2 ～ 3 pieces when you eat around. I also recommend Yokai Hamburger with 100% Japanese black beef minced cutlet and plenty of salsa and demi sauce cheese sauce.