Hotel Celine (Shinano)

Hotel Celine (ホテルセリーヌ) is an abandoned hotel in Shinano, Kamiminochi District, Nagano Prefecture. Known as one of the Chubu region’s best-known haunted spots, it has been talked about for the rumor of a “pregnant woman’s graffiti” left inside. It is now private land and entry is prohibited.

*This article aims to record and reflect on the site as a haunted spot and does not encourage visits. This site does not encourage trespassing on private land.

History — An Abandoned Hotel Left in Shinano

Hotel Celine is a real hotel in Shinano, Nagano, that has closed. We have not been able to confirm any official record of the details of its closure, but the building has stood for many years after it shut down and has become a ruin known both inside and outside the prefecture. In 2026, a guided tour organized by Kyoto Occult Shokai was held for the first time with the permission of the property owner, with the aims of “using the site as a local resource” and “preventing trespassing,” a sign of how much interest the ruin itself draws.

Details of the tour were carried in news reports. It ran for four days, from May 2 to 5, 2026, with a participation fee of 6,000 yen (tax included), a maximum of six people per session, and five sessions per day. Its distinguishing feature was that it deliberately left out actors and scare effects, focusing instead on a guide introducing strange tales and on taking in the atmosphere the building itself gives off. The stated purposes were to use the ruin as a local resource and to deter trespassing.

That is as far as we could confirm within the scope of this article. When the building was built, when it ended business, and why it was left abandoned for so long cannot be verified in official records or news reports. We believe that writing down what is unknown as unknown is a matter of honesty in recording.

Why Is It Called a “Haunted Spot”?

A “pregnant woman’s graffiti” is said to remain inside, and accounts of sightings of a woman’s ghost and of something appearing in photographs have been passed down. It is sometimes called the top haunted spot in the Chubu region, and the ruin’s fame and sheer size are thought to be one reason the rumors spread.

At the center of the rumors, the “pregnant woman’s graffiti” has no known author or date, and much of it relies on the accounts of those who saw it. Graffiti left on the walls of a ruin is, in most cases, not from the days when the building was operating but from people who visited after it closed. This is our speculation, but perhaps a picture first drawn on the wall by someone stirred the imagination of those who came later and nurtured the story that “a woman’s ghost is here.” Rumors can grow not from a building but from the marks left by the hands of visitors.

PR

A 192kg-load-capacity paracord for a ruin or mountain haunted spot — useful for clearing rubble, getting past a fallen tree or fence, securing gear, or as an improvised marker line.

Brotree Paracord 3mm 3-Strand Guy Line, Reflective, 30m Tent Rope, Parachute Cord, 192kg Load Capacity

VIEW ON AMAZON VIEW ON RAKUTEN VIEW ON YAHOO!

We may earn a referral fee on purchases made through these links.

Current Conditions and Access

Hotel Celine is private land, and entry is normally prohibited. Entering without authorization by anyone other than those concerned is trespassing. The position on the map is an approximate coordinate, and we have not pinned down the exact spot.

Reflection — A Turning Point as a “Ruin on Show”

What follows is only our own speculation. Most of the rumors about Hotel Celine are urban-legend-like stories with little concrete backing in news reports. On the other hand, the fact that a tour was held with the owner’s permission is interesting as one example of a haunted spot shifting from a place that is “talked about freely and trespassed on freely” to a place that is “opened and used at the will of its manager.”

In 2020, the YouTube channel KARASU CHANNEL, led by this site’s operator Suzuking., also reported on location at Hotel Celine. It records solo investigations inside the building and a kaidan segment in a room said to be a crime scene (viewable in the related video at the end of this article). It is entertainment video that includes staged elements and we do not guarantee its content, but we would like to introduce it as a record conveying the actual state of decay inside.

In our view, the reason Hotel Celine came to be called one of the best in the Chubu region lies not in the number of spiritual events but in the fact that it had all the “materials that are easy to talk about.” A large hotel building, eerie graffiti drawn by someone, and the word “pregnant,” which carries strong associations. When these three come together, people cannot help layering a story onto it. This is only speculation, but perhaps the strength of a rumor is proportional not to what happened at a place but to the amount of meaning that the tellers want to pile onto it.

There is one more point. The existence of the tour shows that the relationship between haunted spots and their communities is changing. Ruined haunted spots used to be places that were talked about, entered and ruined without the manager’s knowledge. Now one is opened with the owner’s permission, with a guide, and with the staging held back. This too is our view, but it deserves attention as an attempt to keep respect for the place and safety together while still making fear the draw. When those who tell the stories stand on the same side as the manager, a ruin changes from an object of consumption into an object of record.

Shinano is a highland town overlooking Lake Nojiri and Mt. Kurohime, and is also known as the birthplace of the haiku poet Kobayashi Issa. The sight of a huge ruin standing alone in such a quiet land casts a shadow on the viewer’s mind through contrast alone. This is speculation, but people feel a strong loneliness and unease at the sight of something built as a place for enjoyment decaying after people have left. A hotel, a space where people spend a night and laugh together, becomes a darkness with no one in it. That reversal may be the true foundation of the rumor that “something appears” there.

PR

High-brightness glow tape to stick at an entrance or fork in the path as a marker back out of a ruin or cave with no lighting. It absorbs sunlight or flashlight light and glows for 6–8 hours in the dark, needing no battery, helping prevent anyone from getting lost.

LTI Alpha Flash High-Brightness Glow Tape (10mm x 1m) AF1001

VIEW ON AMAZON VIEW ON RAKUTEN VIEW ON YAHOO!

We may earn a referral fee on purchases made through these links.

A Nearby Recommendation — Lake Nojiri

Shinano has Lake Nojiri, long loved as a summer retreat. Campgrounds and boat docks line its shores, and in summer there is lake swimming; the Nojiriko Naumann Elephant Museum, known for the excavation of Naumann elephant fossils, is also popular. As a quiet highland lake overlooking Mt. Kurohime and Mt. Myoko, it draws tourists throughout the four seasons.

Notes

Hotel Celine is private land, and entering without permission is trespassing. This article aims to record and introduce it as a haunted spot and does not encourage visits.

For the “incident” and the “woman’s ghost” mentioned in the rumors, we have not been able to confirm any supporting records. Please avoid linking them to specific people or events. If you are going through a hard time, please reach out to a support line such as the Yorisoi Hotline in Japan (0120-279-338, available 24 hours, in Japanese).

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can I enter Hotel Celine?

A. It is private land, and entry is normally prohibited. Entering other than on a tour permitted by the owner is trespassing.

Q. What is the “pregnant woman’s graffiti”?

A. It is rumored that graffiti depicting a pregnant woman remains on a wall inside, but details such as who drew it and when have not been made clear.

Q. Has KARASU CHANNEL filmed on location at Hotel Celine?

A. Yes. In 2020 the YouTube channel KARASU CHANNEL filmed on location at Hotel Celine. You can watch it in the related video at the end of this article.