Nagoro - a puppet village in Japan - has ten times as many cloth dolls as life-sized as the inhabitants. This brings a ghostly beauty and a little sadness to the remote land.
Japan is world-famous for its unique culture, fascinating tourism potential and not to mention "odd" attractions. The strangest place you can visit in this country is the puppet village of Nagoro, a small village in the remote highlands with almost life-sized cloth dolls.
The number of cloth residents in the village is even ten times more than real people! (Photo: Setouchi Tourism)
The brainchild of local artist Tsukimi Ayano, the remarkable number of puppets makes the village a great place to explore, especially with visitors choosing Shikoku, one of the four main islands in Japan. Ban is a stopover for your journey.
The story behind Nagoro - the puppet village in Japan
Located east of Shikoku's remote Iya valley, the small village of Nagoro was once inhabited by about 300 inhabitants. However, due to Japan's overall population decline combined with rapid urbanization, the Nagoro village community gradually dwindled down to just under 30 residents - a number believed to be less. an ordinary "ghost town".
Things started to change when local artist Tsukimi Ayano decided to replace those who had died or migrated from the village with puppets that imitated themselves. The residents of the village responded to this unique idea and before long, every corner of Nagoro was filled with cloth "residents".
Tsukimi Ayano, who turned Nagoro into a puppet village by making the first cloth dolls. (photo: maryamohry)
While many scarecrows were sewn based on the old inhabitants of the village, fictitious scarecrows were gradually added. By 2022, there are more than 350 cloth dolls in Nagoro village, with new characters being added continuously. In addition to the official name Nagoro, this place is also called "Doll Village" or "Puppet Village" (Kakashi-no-sato). And perhaps the puppet village in Japan Nagoro is also the only puppet village in the world.
How to move to the puppet village of Nagoro?
This quaint village is located in a rather remote area and the most affordable means of getting there is by car. This shows that Japan is a country with an excellent public transportation system, making it easy to reach remote areas safely and conveniently.
In addition, you can also visit the Iya valley by traveling by train and bus. Just by planning ahead, it's a viable option to help you see the beautiful sights on the road and experience Japan's various modes of transportation.
Scarecrows are sewn to near-life-size, and many are imitations of the village's former inhabitants. (Photo: Setouchi Tourism)
Oboke town at the western end of the Iya Valley can be reached by JR train south from Kochi (about 50 minutes, 1,300 yen).
Public buses going through the valley are reliable, but the downside is that you will have to wait for it to pass on time. Currently, there are 4 buses per day. To get from Oboke to Nagoro, you will have to change buses at Kubo (don't worry, you won't have to wait long, the bus always runs on time, so just plan a reasonable personal schedule).
The entire ride takes about 1.5 hours and costs about 2,000 yen to reach the puppet village in Japan, but consider it a great sightseeing opportunity. If you sit on the right side of the bus in the direction of travel, you can easily enjoy the dramatic view of the gorge along the way.
Visitors take pictures with Tsukimi Ayano and the village's cloth residents. (Photo: foundland)
Is it possible to spend the night in the puppet village of Nagoro?
You're worried about spending a night in a village full of cloth dolls, right? While it's not as scary as you might think, it's still best to just visit Nagoro with a day trip as there aren't any overnight accommodations in the village.
If traveling in a group, you might consider renting a Yoki guesthouse in Miyoshi. However, this is a mid-range or higher option, because currently this guesthouse only rents out the entire apartment. When you decide to stay here, you can sleep in the traditional way on a mattress and a layer of tatami mats spread on the floor. The guesthouse is run by Usin, who speaks English and is very knowledgeable about the attractions around the Japanese puppet village of Nagoro.
Iya Onsen hotel with beautiful view and warm spring is also very popular for tourists with a lot of money. Hotel Kazurabashi with open-air baths will definitely be the first choice of travelers who want to immerse themselves in the beautiful nature of Japan.
Some affordable options include the Heso Camo or the 4S Stay Awaikeda Ekimae in Miyoshi.
What is there to discover in the strange doll village of Nagoro?
The simple but fun activity of visiting Nagoro is to wander around the village, without following any directions to the destination, watching the scarecrows in the fields and in the gardens. They are literally everywhere, including along the main road outside the Nagoro doll village. Sometimes you don't even meet a living person, only a scarecrow!
The idea of replacing lost residents with cloth dolls really brought the village to life. (Photo: foundland)
If you want to explore every nook and cranny of this tourist spot, you should plan on spending about an hour in Nagoro, although it only takes 10-15 minutes to get a basic picture of the destination.
There are several notable spots in the puppet village in Japan that you can refer to: The village hall contains a large group of puppets as well as several leaflets providing information on the history of Nagoro, and the bus station The minibus on the west side of the village has scarecrows imitating some political figures.
One place that you shouldn't miss is the old building south of the main road that used to be a village school. Instead of seeing the teacher giving a lecture and the students listening attentively, of course, you will see dozens of cloth dolls simulating this activity. A large group of them gathered in the gym to the right of the building.
Inside the abandoned school. (Photo: Setouchi Tourism)
You may be a little shivering when you see puppets in every room in the building. There is a teacher's room and three classrooms, each table has "students" sitting neatly. On the blackboard of a classroom, someone wrote a question: “Where are the people living?”
