A little over a block away from our house is a hill, surrounded by a fence, that sits right in the middle of the neighborhood. We wondered what it was, so soon after we moved in, we asked one of the locals about it. He told us that it was called "Haunted Hill".... dun dun dun! There are usually kids playing around it during the day, so obviously it isn't that threatening, haha. We heard that they do tours of it around Halloween, which might be something fun to do in October. We were warned though, not to go wandering up there at night because it's a good habitat for (not just ghosts) but Okinawa's own little poisonous snake, the habu. Good to know. Anyway, I looked online to see if there was any actual history on this place and there actually was quite a bit. Here's the scoop on our neighboring hill....
"Close to the memorial on Hwy 329 is a hill which juts out of the ground like a monument, which in a sense, it is. The land was used by the U.S. military as a base; after it was closed, the land was turned back to the Okinawa government, who decided to use the land for a residential and commercial area. The large hill was to be torn down, and the demolition went smoothly until one section of the hill was reached. Bulldozers and trucks reached this portion of the hill, and things soon went wrong. On four separate occasions, someone died at the hill or there was a fatal accident during the demolition. The final blow was when one of the bulldozers rolled over and killed a worker. A tomb was later found in the hill, and there are now stairs that lead up to a shrine, and a fence was built around the now landscaped area"
Schan and I walked up the stairs to the top of the hill earlier tonight and we saw the shrine, but lucky for us, no habu snakes. I took a few pictures of the hill and I really wanted to take one when we got to the top, but my camera went dead... dang those batteries! Strange, because I had just replaced them yesterday afternoon. So we wander back down the stairs and took a walk around the neighborhood to find somewhere to eat... which ended up being McDonalds, yumm, haha (not really). When we got home, I took my camera out to replace the batteries and surprise! .... there was a nice fully-charged battery symbol on my camera screen. Hmmm, creepy :)
Other places in Okinawa that are said to be haunted- http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=3509
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5 comments:
What a fun story! It's cool that you were able to find out the history and local legends. It looks like you're having some great adventures. We miss you, though!
-Anna
Pretty creepy. Even knocked out your battery, huh. Looks very interesting. I think I will bring good shoes when I come to hike. Judy
Carmen do have directions to this haunted hill?
Hello there! ive been looking for this place for the longest time and i haven't had luck...do you mind telling us where this place is? thanks!
To get there, you head straight out Kadena Gate 3 until you hit 329. Turn left on 329 and take an immediate right at the stoplight. Take your first left after the KFC and Haunted Hill park is just up the road. Another way to get there is after you turn left on 329, pull into the Kanahide grocery store parking lot just past that first stoplight and walk around the corner to the hill. I miss Oki! It's been 2 years since we moved and lived right next to Haunted Hill :)
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