Yokai Expo Travel Log Prequel

Good evening. I'm Aida from Yokaiya. It's been more than half a year since we incorporated in April last year. Time flies. Thanks to everyone's help, I've been very busy, and it looks like this year (2025) will be a yokai year. The other day, I went to a large-scale yokai event called "Yokai Expo" held in Shodoshima, and I thought I'd write about my impressions of seeing yokai freaks from all over the country gather there.

First visit to Shodoshima

I flew from Narita (NRT) to Takamatsu (TAK) on the first flight the day before to participate in the stall and the eve of the festival. I took a high-speed boat from Takamatsu Port to Tonosho Port on Shodoshima Island, arriving a day early. I arrived in the afternoon, so I first had something to eat. I enjoyed a feast at a stylish local Italian restaurant while slowly waiting for the evening event to begin.

The oven-baked pizza was really delicious. Afterwards, I was encouraged by everyone at X Land to try the somen noodles, but please keep that a secret.

Reunion with Kono-san

Even though I was wandering around quite a bit, I still had time left, so I headed to the event venue a little early. The day before, I was looking forward to Mr. Kono's ghost storytelling session. Mr. Kono is a senior who has been working on local ghost events such as the Ichijo Hyakki Yakou in Kyoto for over 10 years, and is someone I look up to. We previously planned a ghost story session together at the ghost temple in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, where I was the listener, so I was excited to see what this time would be like. When I arrived at the venue, Mr. Kono was in the lobby and I greeted him. I had always wanted to thank him in person for holding the Uzumasa Hyakki Yakou event, Japan's largest event, for three months last year, so I was glad I was able to greet him. Thank you very much for your hard work.

The ghost story session begins

Anyway, the preparations for the ghost story gathering were complete, so we entered the venue. This time, meRry and I were taking turns telling ghost stories. The members who had been selected for the island tour were taking a while to arrive, so we were running a little behind schedule, but in the meantime, both of them told a lot of improvised stories, which made me feel like I had gotten a little lucky. When the tour participants returned, it was finally time to start.

I won't go into details because it would be a spoiler, but there were many stories that only Kono and meRry could tell, such as mysterious stories and stories about ghosts, and I was able to listen to it comfortably while maintaining a moderate level of fear until the end. I was very satisfied.

Eve of the festival (social gathering)

Immediately after the ghost story gathering ended, a large-scale stand-up party for over 100 people was held at Umagenamon, a restaurant that serves fresh fish from the island and local ingredients. It was a social gathering with many exhibitors and groups that were not participating in the ghost story gathering. Chokeshi-niiyan from the Yokai Art Museum and general producer Yagyu Chuhei kicked off the event with a big toast. I've been holding yokai events for the past few years, so I've made a few acquaintances here and there, and I enjoyed some delicious local food while exchanging greetings with everyone. I wanted to have a long chat with everyone...

With my admired teacher Kazuhiko Komatsu?

When I first started the Yokai Shop, I only knew a little more about yokai than most people, but over the years I gained a wealth of knowledge about them. During that time, I gained knowledge from many books, such as "Introduction to Yokai Studies" and "Demons and the Japanese" by Professor Kazuhiko Komatsu, and they were like something above the clouds for me. At first, I just watched them from afar, but as the effects of alcohol started to take hold and I felt a mysterious wind blowing behind me that "if I miss this opportunity, I may never be able to talk to them again," I went and talked to everyone involved in Miyoshi, Tokushima. I did my best despite being quite bad at communicating.

What did you talk about?

At first, I gave him my business card and, though I was nervous, introduced him to the activities of our company (Yokai-ya), and told him that we were trying to create a Yokai database using AI. AI is a machine, after all, and if experts don't teach it the analog parts, it often makes mistakes. That's the way the conversation went, so I wanted to rely on the power of predecessors and experts like Komatsu-sensei as much as possible. I decided to consult him. Then, Komatsu-sensei said, "I see, then you have to live a long life," and I was so moved that I almost cried, but after that, as we talked about disappearing folk tales, both Komatsu-sensei and I got excited and the conversation expanded. It's important to have a middle class that can pass on the vast knowledge of scholars to young people. Initiatives like this Yokai Expo are what we need from now on. He said, "That's good. What I've been doing wasn't wrong," and it made a lot of sense to me. This talk was very meaningful to me, and being recognized by someone who is so high up in the clouds has paid off all my hard work and given me confidence in my future activities, making it an irreplaceable time. To the teacher, I may have been just one of many people who liked monsters, but for me, this alone was enough to make it worth coming to Shodoshima. I'm really glad I came. Shodoshima.

What happens next?

It was so much fun with my beloved Alliance of Villains (a creative group that works as a team to play various villain roles, and at yokai events they all play yokai), yay♪ (the details are too vague).

lastly

Taxis on Shodoshima Island finish at 10 p.m. Just remember that. I'll be talking about the Yokai Expo soon.