Mizuki Shigeru Road

Mizuki Shigeru Road runs roughly 800 metres from Sakaiminato Station in Sakaiminato City, the hometown of manga artist Shigeru Mizuki, and is lined with more than 150 bronze statues of yokai, the supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore that populate his best-known series, GeGeGe no Kitaro. Unlike a generic souvenir strip, nearly every shop along the route ties its merchandise directly to the manga and its characters: figurines and plush toys of Kitaro, Nezumi Otoko, and other yokai, character-shaped bread and sweets sold at bakeries along the street, and yokai-themed stationery and homeware. A popular activity is collecting rubber-stamp impressions of different yokai in a guidebook purchased at the Sakaiminato City Tourist Information Center or participating shops, working through 35 available stamps as a route through the street. The road also includes the Kappa Spring, a small healing-themed fountain, a Yokai Jinja shrine dedicated to the folklore characters, and a Yokai Post where mail receives a special fairy postmark. Vendors are a mix of long-established local shops and character-goods specialists rather than chain retailers, so most merchandise here cannot easily be found outside Sakaiminato. Bargaining is not customary; prices are fixed and clearly marked. Cash is the most reliable payment method at smaller shops, though larger stores near the station increasingly accept cards and IC cards. The street is busiest on weekends and during summer holidays, with a lively, family-oriented atmosphere given the manga's broad appeal across generations. Food options include Kitaro-themed bread, ice cream, and small snack stalls concentrated toward the station end of the road, and the Chiyomusubi Sake Brewery, a working sake producer since 1865, sits directly on the street partway along the route.