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As I mentioned in our last Fuji, we were about to get a massive increase in fun and in ridiculousness.

It’s now January 7th, I’m on the last of the three Fujis in the Frozen North, Fujine, all the way over in Iwate. This time, no shiny new train –

– but the station itself is pretty swish –

Just one small problem though. By getting off this train here, I’ve pretty much stranded myself in rural Iwate, in winter, with nothing to do, for some considerable time.

Now this would have been a problem, way back when I was young and even stupider, but not any longer. (Well, not since Fujimi at any rate.) I have a plan!

Admittedly, it’s a pretty bananas-pants plan that involves a 4km walk through snow along roads I’m not entirely sure are safe to walk on but eh – it’s an ADVENTURE, and the bus service is non-existent as far as I can figure.

DESTINATION? The Kitakami Demon Museum!

It turns out that the walk is quite pedestrian in every sense of the word. It’s not even that cold. Most of the traffic is trucks, and they’re a bit noisy, but it’s otherwise quite a fun walk with some cool views:

Eventually, I arrive at the demon museum. I’m not sure it’s open at first, despite me having checked their website beforehand, but I stroll on in anyway and it turns out it’s actually pretty neat. There’s nothing in English so I really struggle with some of the more esoterically named demons, but I know this chap is a suneka, which is kind of like the Iwate version of the namahage:

These guys are hilarious. They’re part of local festivals that happen in winter where they wander around your village calling out “Who’s been a bad kid!?!” The goal being to terrify lazy / misbehaving kids into not being either of those things. Not sure how successful the behaviour modification is, but I’m sure some trust issues develop as a result. I mean, look at this –

The demon museum was definitely worth the walk, although if I were ever to go back there, I’d probably need someone with a car.

You see, the buses from the museum to anywhere with a train station, are two things:

1. incredibly infrequent
2. only running in the mornings

Yes, I checked. Like yourself, I thought that this was too bonkers to be true, that I must be reading something wrong or missing vital information, but, after a wander around the exhibits I asked the lovely lady at reception about buses, and she confirmed that, yes, the museum is far from blessed with transport options.

She did offer to call me a taxi, and didn’t seem curious about how I’d just appeared out of thin air. Not fancying an even longer walk, I gladly accepted.

The taxi was … not cheap. It’s a long way from the demon museum to civilization. Maybe that’s how it should be. Wouldn’t want any containment issues and escaped demons wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting denizens of Kitakami.

(Oh and there’s a good English write up of the museum here.)

FUJIS LEFT AT THE END OF JANUARY 7th, 2020:

14/60