[Episode 12] Shonyu-en (Part 1) — Infiltrating an Abandoned Inn Where the Spirit of Someone Who Died by Suicide Is Said to Wander. What Happened Inside a Building Wrapped in Keep-Out Tape.

Part 1 of Episode 12, “Quiet Corpse.” An investigation of the abandoned inn Shōnyūen in Okutama, Tokyo.

The background of this building’s reputation is said to be an incident on an upper floor, but the details remain hearsay. The ruin’s large scale and the quiet typical of mountain areas are also thought to feed the rumors.

In this part, the crew enters a building wrapped in keep-out tape. It is entertainment with staged elements and we do not guarantee its accuracy. Aging may lead to demolition and clearing in future, and this site does not recommend entering.

What to Watch For

The crew enters a building wrapped in keep-out tape. A report says heavy machinery partially demolished it in 2023 (such as removing part of the first-floor roof), so its present look may differ from images shared online. Please watch the footage as a record of how the building looked at one point in time.

Our Take

Okutama Town is the largest municipality in Tokyo by area, and 94 percent of it is forest. When a once-busy inn becomes a ruin in a sparsely populated valley settlement, its silence carries a weight incomparable to the city center. This is speculation, but the places most readily chosen as stages for rumor are those where a building that was once a “place where people gathered” became a “place where no one comes,” a big drop. Please do not take this rumor as just an entertaining story; remember there was a person’s life behind it. If you are struggling, please do not carry it alone. In Japan, the Yorisoi Hotline (0120-279-338, free, 24 hours) offers support.