Haunted Island Halloween Party

After discovering Otsushima a few months ago with Motto, I knew it'd be the perfect place for a big Halloween party. It's a 30 minute ferry ride from my house, there are cheap cabins, and... it's haunted by WW2 kamikaze soldiers!

Halloween night I rented out three cabins, and a bunch of people came all dressed up and someone even brought a real orange pumpkin! (In Japan you usually only find the small green kind.)

First we explored the tunnels and submarine launching site. Then we drank, BBQ'd and watched campy Halloween movies inside one of the cabins on the curtains using a projector. Everyone bought treat bags filled with candy for each other (mine are hanging on my doorknob so Motto doesnt forget to bring them to his students tomorrow).

A slightly scary experience: there was a creepy fisherman biking around when it got dark. A few people saw him appear out of the darkness of the tunnel and then say, in Japanese, "give me fire." Someone asked if he meant a lighter and he grunted in approval. Later, at about 3am Nao-chan and I saw him while we were walking back from the peir. He was just leaning on his bicycle between the camp site's showers and kitchen. I screamed! He didnt react at all, and I couldnt even see his face. When I got back into the cabin some people said they heard me scream, so I asked why they didnt come running to save me. Their reply?

"Well, we discussed it and, it sounded like a happy scream."

On a haunted island, nonetheless.

The next day, after I settled my stomach down by throwing up every time I moved my head, a few of us set out for the Kaiten Museum, which was sad and creepy. But, despite that, it was pleasant because the weather was cool and the clouds had cleared after a rainy morning.

The party continued into the next night, with a few less people, but more cooking, costumes, cocktails and candy.

All in all, it was a good time. But, I'm not likely to host a party again soon.