[2026 Latest] Top 3 Ranking of Paranormal Rumors at Cemeteries and Burial Grounds in Hokkaido

Rumors surrounding cemeteries and burial grounds in Hokkaido include not only sightings, voices, and photographs of ghosts, but also explanations about cemetery facilities, Jizo statues, and past events. This article examines Satozuka Cemetery, Makomanai Takino Cemetery, and Shiundai Cemetery, directly comparing external rumor-sharing pages with current information from the local governments and administrators. We will distinguish between places that actually exist and are managed, and those where the rumored strange occurrences and events can be confirmed.

Survey methods and evaluation criteria

The survey date was September 28, 2026. For each location, we directly obtained individual pages from external nationwide haunted map sites as the source of rumors, and pages from Sapporo City, Kushiro City, or cemetery administrators as official/administrative materials. We atomized the claims written on the rumor pages and determined whether the official materials supported the same subject and facts, showed contradictory facts, or whether there was insufficient comparative material. There are five classifications: Consistency (a consistent core claim is supported by independent materials), Partial Consistency (support and unconfirmed facts coexist), Inconsistency (independent materials show contradictory facts), Unmeasurable (insufficient records for direct comparison), and New Facts (meaningful official information not found in the rumors is confirmed). We do not use the usual location, opening information, number of plots, and opening hours alone to support the claims of paranormal activity. The score is not based on fear or danger, but on the quality of the materials, totaling 30 points for source transparency, 25 points for historical/spatial context, 20 points for safety information, 15 points for freshness of information, and 10 points for transparency of the rumor's source. The map was created by cross-referencing the JSON-LD coordinates found on each rumor page, and using the same coordinates for embedding and linking to Google Maps.

1st Place: Satozuka Cemetery | Unmeasurable (88 points)

The rumored details

The Satozuka Cemetery page on the National Haunted Map lists paranormal phenomena such as the appearance of a male ghost and the hearing of voices. The text describes the cemetery as being located on a small hill, followed by descriptions of a man's voice being heard from an unknown number on the phone, headaches occurring near a removed phone booth, a man standing in front of a tombstone, being told to "get out right now," and hearing "I'll kill you if you come again." The page also includes a news item from the official gazette dated April 27, 2003, stating that a woman's skeleton was discovered in the woods adjacent to Satozuka Cemetery. These are all treated as published content and not as confirmed facts.

Source of the rumor and date of verification

The source of the rumor is the individual page for "Satozuka Cemetery" on the external website "National Haunted Map," and the verification date is September 28, 2026. The page was last updated on June 30, 2025, and displays the classifications of Sapporo City, Hokkaido, cemetery/memorial monument, male ghost and voice, address field, and news section. Since no materials tracing back to the initial experience record, audio, or phone record could be found on this page, it is treated as a secondary publication example. The text from the official gazette found in the news section has also been separated as separate publication information from this official management page.

• National Haunted Map - Satozuka Cemetery(Confirmed on 2026-09-28) — Satozuka Cemetery is a cemetery located on a small hill. A male ghost appears and a voice can be heard.

Things that could be confirmed from official and primary source materials

The Sapporo City "Satozuka Cemetery" page lists the location of Satozuka Cemetery as 468 Satozuka, Kiyota-ku, Sapporo City, and provides information on the cemetery management office's telephone number, opening hours, and closing days. The total area is 661,996 square meters, the number of burial plots is 26,200, and it was established in 1966 (Showa 41). It also states that it takes 10 minutes to walk from the nearest bus stop to the management office, and another 10-20 minutes to reach the desired burial plot, that snow removal is generally not performed within the cemetery during the winter, and that there are periods when toilets and water sources are unavailable. This is physical and management information for Satozuka Cemetery and does not constitute confirmation of rumors about a male ghost, voices, telephone calls, or the discovery of skeletal remains.

• Sapporo City, Satozuka Cemetery(Confirmed on 2026-09-28) — Satozuka Cemetery Location: 468 Satozuka, Kiyota-ku, Sapporo City

Points of agreement/contradictions

The claims in the rumors about "a male ghost appearing," "voices being heard," and "unknown numbers being called on cell phones" are not supported by any eyewitness accounts, audio recordings, or call logs corresponding to the Sapporo City Satozuka Cemetery guide. The city's page allows you to check the location, area, plots, management office, transportation, and winter facility operation, but it neither supports nor refutes the rumors about the man or the phone calls. The official gazette publications regarding the adjacent forest land cannot be reconfirmed solely from the city's cemetery overview, so we cannot construct a causal relationship between the strange occurrences and the incidents.

The rumored atomic claim	Matching results	reason	Corresponding documents
A male ghost appears	Unconfirmed	The overview of Satozuka Cemetery in Sapporo City shows facility and management information, but it does not include any records of sightings of a male ghost or the results of investigations, so it is not possible to compare occurrences based solely on the rumor page.	No official data available for direct comparison.
I can hear a voice	Unconfirmed	The official page lacks information regarding the location, time, recording, and acoustic analysis of the voices, making it impossible to support or refute the published voice experiences with independent sources.	No official data available for direct comparison.
A man's voice can be heard from an unknown number.	Unconfirmed	The city's administrative guidance does not handle phone booths or calls from unknown numbers, and it is not possible to check call history or call audio. Therefore, the causal link to the rumored phone call cannot be accepted as concrete fact.	No official data available for direct comparison.
Female skeletons discovered in the woods adjacent to Satozuka Cemetery	Unconfirmed	While the rumor page contains news articles originating from the official gazette, the Sapporo cemetery overview we checked does not include records of the discovery or identification, and therefore cannot be used as an independent primary source for verification.	No official data available for direct comparison.

Alternative interpretation

The removed telephone booth, the elevation differences in the cemetery area, the wind and ambient noise at night, and the visibility conditions in dark places are all common factors that can be considered when thinking about telephone calls, voices, headaches, and misidentification of people. However, the two pages obtained this time do not include acoustic measurements, medical records, call history, original photographs, or the time and location of the site. Therefore, we will not conclude that these are the cause of the specific experience and will not use them as an explanation for the paranormal phenomenon.

Scope and limitations of the investigation

The documents I directly checked were the individual pages on the National Haunted Map and the overview page for Satozuka Cemetery in Sapporo City. I did not further verify police and fire department accident records, original documents published in the official gazette, telephone call records, audio data, original eyewitness accounts, nighttime measurements at the site, or the relative positions of the adjacent forest land. The limitation of this investigation is that I cannot conclude that the rumored events do not exist or are false simply because they are not mentioned in the official guide.

Verification result: Unmeasurable

All we could confirm was the location, size, and management information of a place called Satozuka Cemetery, and that rumors of a male ghost and voices were posted on an external website. The city's guide does not contain any eyewitness accounts, call records, audio, or primary accident evidence that can be used to compare the rumored phenomena, and we cannot infer the occurrence from the existence of the posting. Therefore, the core claims of a male ghost, voices, and anonymous phone calls are deemed immeasurable.

Document Quality Score

Source transparency	27/30	You can check the specific text of the rumor and the current overview of Sapporo City at separate URLs, and track the roles of published information and managed information separately.
Historical and spatial context	22/25	The city's website provides a summary of the opening year, total area, number of plots, and transportation options, allowing you to understand the spatial scale of the cemetery that is the subject of the rumors.
Safety information	17/20	The opening hours of the management office, traffic, snow removal suspension during winter, and periods when toilets and water sources are unavailable are all clearly indicated.
Newness of information	14/15	The Sapporo City page was updated on September 1, 2026, and the rumor page was also updated on June 30, 2025, so I was able to obtain the current information on the day of verification.
Transparency of the source of rumors	8/10	While the rumored phenomenon, update date, address, and news section can be identified, the original audio recording of the experience and the chain of initial publication materials are not shown.
total	88/100	This is the overall quality of the materials. It does not represent the degree of truthfulness or danger associated with the supernatural phenomena.

Safety information and maps

Sapporo City has provided information on the opening hours and transportation options for the management office of Satozuka Cemetery, as well as indicating that snow removal will not be carried out during the winter months and that facilities will be unavailable during certain periods. Please refrain from entering the cemetery at night to verify rumors or from trespassing into the graves without permission, and prioritize the safety of passersby and visitors by checking opening days, signs within the cemetery, and other relevant information.

Check the area around Satozuka Cemetery on Google Maps.

2nd Place: Makomanai Takino Cemetery | Partial Match (84 points)

The rumored details

The page on the nationwide paranormal map lists it as "Takino Cemetery," but the address also lists Makomanai Takino Cemetery, and it includes rumors of a female ghost appearing there and that paranormal photos can be taken there. The text describes it as a somewhat unusual cemetery with many Moai statues lined up, a Stonehenge-like torii gate made of stacked stones, and a large Buddha hall where only the head is visible. It introduces the Moai statues at night as an eerie sight and an unusual atmosphere, describing it as a mystery spot. There is also speculation that since it is a cemetery, you might be struck by paranormal activity if you go there half-heartedly, but here we will treat it as a rumor listed on the page.

Source of the rumor and date of verification

The source of the rumor is the individual page for "Takino Cemetery" on the external website "National Haunted Map," and the verification date is September 28, 2026. The page was updated on March 12, 2020, and is categorized as Sapporo City, Hokkaido, cemetery/memorial monument, female ghost and paranormal photograph, and displays the address including Makomanai Takino Cemetery. Since the initial experience report, original photographs, and primary sources showing the occurrence of paranormal activity could not be found on the same page, we read the secondary publications and facility introductions separately.

• National Haunted Map - Takino Cemetery(Confirmed on 2026-09-28) — A female ghost appears; paranormal photos can be taken; numerous Moai statues lined up; a Stonehenge-like structure made of stacked stones; and a large Buddha hall where only the head is visible.

Things that could be confirmed from official and primary source materials

The official website for Makomanai Takino Cemetery describes it as a public park cemetery for the residents of Hokkaido, managed and operated by a public interest incorporated association. The page lists the address (2 Takino, Minami-ku, Sapporo), opening hours (open year-round), regular hours (7am to 7pm from April to October, 7am to 6pm from November to March), and the reception hours of the management office. The facility guide lists the Head Buddha Hall and Head Buddha Mausoleum, Rotunda Cafe & Store, and Flower Marche, and also mentions that the cemetery utilizes the natural environment. This is confirmation of the existence and management of the facilities, and is not evidence to support the identification of a female ghost or paranormal photographs.

• Makomanai Takino Cemetery - Official(Confirmed on 2026-09-28) — Makomanai Takino Cemetery is a park cemetery for the residents of Hokkaido, managed and operated by a public interest incorporated association.

Points of agreement/contradictions

The claims of paranormal activity, such as "a female ghost appears" and "it's possible to take paranormal photos," are not listed on the official Makomanai Takino Cemetery website as sighting records, photographic data, or investigations into paranormal activity. On the other hand, the physical facility element of "the Head Buddha Hall where only the head is visible" on the rumor page overlaps with the description of "Head Buddha Hall/Head Buddha Mausoleum" on the official page. Since only a part of the facility can be confirmed and it does not support the claim that it looks eerie at night or that paranormal activity occurs, we judge it to be a partial match where support and unconfirmed elements coexist.

The rumored atomic claim	Matching results	reason	Corresponding documents
A female ghost appears	Unconfirmed	The official website provides information on the management, operation, and facilities of the cemetery, but it does not show any records of sightings of the female ghost, the location of the incident, or the results of any investigations, so it is not possible to make a comparison based solely on the posting of rumors.	No official data available for direct comparison.
You can take photos of ghosts.	Unconfirmed	The official guide for Makomanai Takino Cemetery does not include the original data of the photograph or any verification of the phenomena that occurred during its capture. Therefore, we cannot support the claim that the photograph is paranormal based solely on the evaluation and description on the page in question.	No official data available for direct comparison.
The head of the Great Buddha is visible	support	The facility element called "Head Buddha Hall" mentioned on the rumors page is also listed on the official page as "Head Buddha Hall/Head Buddha Mausoleum," confirming that it is a physical facility within the same cemetery.	Makomanai Takino Cemetery - Official

Alternative interpretation

The arrangement of the Moai statues and stones, the Great Buddha Hall, and the vast natural space, when viewed under nighttime conditions, can easily evoke a strong sense of strangeness and eeriness. The official website provides information on the park's nature, opening hours, and facilities, but it does not explain the identity of what appears in the photographs or any paranormal activity. Rather than jumping to conclusions that the facility's scenery and nighttime impression are the cause of female ghosts or paranormal photographs, we will only record the physical information that we were able to confirm for comparison.

Scope and limitations of the investigation

The only sources I directly consulted were the Takino Cemetery page on the National Haunted Map website and the official homepage for Makomanai Takino Cemetery. I did not obtain individual management records for the Moai statues or Stonehenge, the original images of the alleged paranormal photographs, the shooting conditions, the original records of female witnesses, or records of consultations regarding paranormal activity. I am limited in my ability to estimate the time the rumors began or the authenticity of the photographs, as the official website lists facilities beyond what is available.

Verification results: Partial match

Regarding Makomanai Takino Cemetery, the official website provides information on its location, administrator, opening hours, and the Head Buddha Hall and Head Buddha Mausoleum. The rumors page also mentions the Head Buddha Hall, so a comparison is possible only in terms of physical facilities. However, there are no official sightings or photographs of female ghosts or paranormal activity, so there are both verifiable and unconfirmed aspects. Therefore, this is considered a partial match limited to facility elements and should not be treated as proof of paranormal activity.

Document Quality Score

Source transparency	26/30	You can check the rumored phenomena and facility descriptions on external pages, and link them to the administrator information and facility list on the official page as separate documents.
Historical and spatial context	21/25	The official website provides information about its positioning as a park cemetery, its natural environment, and spatial elements such as the Great Buddha Hall.
Safety information	18/20	The opening hours (open year-round), seasonal hours, management office hours, address, and phone number are officially listed.
Newness of information	12/15	The official homepage displays an announcement from September 2026, and I was able to retrieve the current page on the verification date, but the rumor page shows an update date of 2020.
Transparency of the source of rumors	7/10	While the rumored phenomenon, facility description, update date, and address can be identified, the original images of the paranormal photographs and the initial accounts of the experiences cannot be confirmed.
total	84/100	This is the overall quality of the materials. It does not represent the degree of truthfulness or danger associated with the supernatural phenomena.

Safety information and maps

The official website provides seasonal opening hours for Makomanai Takino Cemetery and also indicates the reception hours for the management office. Please avoid nighttime exploration unrelated to visiting graves or sightseeing, entering managed or restricted areas, and taking photographs that may disturb other visitors. Prioritize the opening hours and on-site information.

Check the area around Makomanai Takino Cemetery on Google Maps.

3rd place: Shiundae Cemetery | Unmeasurable (74 points)

The rumored details

The Shion-dai Cemetery page on the National Haunted Map lists rumors of a male ghost appearing, shadows being seen, and the possibility of taking paranormal photographs. The text continues with stories of several Jizo statues in the parking lot, one of which is a headless body, that visiting the graves is fine but going just for fun will bring a curse, and that young people who went there for a test of courage were involved in a traffic accident on their way home. Furthermore, it mentions a grave called the "Grudge Millstone," the graves of pioneers who attempted to develop the area in the Meiji era but failed, and rumors of black figures, will-o'-the-wisps, and paranormal photographs. These are treated as legends and submissions on the page and are not considered factual occurrences.

Source of the rumor and date of verification

The source of the rumor is the individual page for "Shion-dai Cemetery" on the external website "National Haunted Map," and the verification date is September 28, 2026. The page was updated on September 15, 2026, and displays classifications such as Kushiro City, Hokkaido, cemetery/memorial monument, male ghost, human figure, and paranormal photograph, as well as the address, personal experiences, and comments. Explanations regarding the damage to the Jizo statue and the graves of the pioneering group can be read as legends/posts on the page, but it is not structured in a way that allows you to check the original source, police records of the incident, and primary sources showing the origin of the cemetery all in one place.

• Nationwide Haunted Map - Shiondai Cemetery(Confirmed on 2026-09-28) — Several Jizo statues are installed in the parking lot of Shiondai Cemetery, but one of them is a headless Jizo with only a body.

Things that could be confirmed from official and primary source materials

The Kushiro City "Cemeteries and Procedures (Kushiro Area)" page lists Shiundai Cemetery as a municipal cemetery, stating that it has 5,012 plots and does not currently offer new leases to the general public. For Shiundai Cemetery and Katsurakoi Cemetery, the page indicates that procedures for tombstone construction and interment are handled at the Shiundai Cemetery Management Office, and lists the necessary documents for reburial from outside the city. The management office is located at 2-66 Shiundai, Kushiro City, and its telephone number is 0154-41-0143. Reception hours vary by season, and regular closing days are also listed. This is information regarding the public management and procedures of Shiundai Cemetery and does not constitute a claim of headless Jizo, curses, shadowy figures, or traffic accidents.

• Kushiro City - Cemeteries and related procedures (Kushiro area)(Confirmed on 2026-09-28) — Shiondai Cemetery: 5,012 plots. New leases are not available to the general public.

Points of agreement/contradictions

Claims such as "a male ghost appears," "a figure can be seen," and "ghost photos can be taken" are not mentioned on the Kushiro City administrative page. The page also contains no records of corresponding sightings, accidents, the placement of the Jizo statues, or the history of the graves, including information about a headless Jizo statue and a curse, a traffic accident after a test of courage, and the origin of a grave with a millstone as a base. While the city's page provides information on the name of Shiundai Cemetery, the number of plots, the management office, and procedures for interment and reburial, it is not possible to deduce the occurrence of paranormal phenomena or accidents from this standard management information. Since no counter-facts have been presented, this is considered immeasurable rather than a discrepancy.

The rumored atomic claim	Matching results	reason	Corresponding documents
A male ghost appears	Unconfirmed	The guide to the municipal cemetery in Kushiro City provides information on plots and procedures, but it does not include any records of sightings of a male ghost or any investigation results, so the origin of the rumor cannot be confirmed through independent sources.	No official data available for direct comparison.
A human figure can be seen.	Unconfirmed	The official website does not provide information such as the conditions, time, location, or video footage of the alleged human figure, making it impossible to compare the cemetery management information with the rumors of the figure as factual.	No official data available for direct comparison.
A headless, bodyless Jizo statue	Unconfirmed	The procedure page in Kushiro City does not list the number, condition, or history of damage to the Jizo statues, so it is not possible to verify the information about the headless Jizo statues with official records.	No official data available for direct comparison.
A group of young people who went on a test of courage were involved in a traffic accident on their way home.	Unconfirmed	The city's cemetery guide does not include the date, time, location, parties involved, or investigation results of the traffic accident, making it impossible to confirm the causal relationship of the rumor page as an accident record.	No official data available for direct comparison.

Alternative interpretation

The condition of the stone structures and Jizo statues in the cemetery, the lighting from evening to night, the visibility of trees and roads, and the possibility that the posts were linked after the fact, provide another perspective when considering the narratives of the headless Jizo, the human figure, and the traffic accident. However, this official page is a procedural guide and does not explain the history of damage to the Jizo, the origin of the millstone, the accident site, or the nighttime environment. We will not conclude that general possibilities are the specific cause, and will separate them from the management information that we have been able to confirm.

Scope and limitations of the investigation

The documents I directly checked were the Shion-dai Cemetery page on the National Haunted Map and the Kushiro City Municipal Cemetery Procedures page. I did not obtain police statements regarding the damage to the Jizo statue, the date and location of the traffic accident, the construction records of the stone mortar grave, the list of settlers, the original images of the paranormal photographs, or the original submissions of personal accounts. The city's page was last updated on August 25, 2022, and does not show all subsequent facility conditions, so I will not consider the absence of information as evidence of non-existence.

Verification result: Unmeasurable

The Kushiro City website confirms that Shiundai Cemetery is managed as a municipal cemetery, with 5,012 plots and a management office. However, regarding the core rumors—the male ghost, the shadowy figure, the headless Jizo statue, the curse, the traffic accident, and the origin of the stone mortar grave—the official procedural documents do not contain any records that can be directly compared. Since the existence of the information and the cemetery management information alone cannot support or refute the occurrence of these events, we will consider it impossible to measure.

Document Quality Score

Source transparency	25/30	The information regarding the rumored legend and the procedures for the municipal cemetery in Kushiro City can be found at separate URLs, allowing you to distinguish what each document records.
Historical and spatial context	17/25	The city's website provides information on the number of plots, cemetery names, management offices, and procedures for reburial, but it lacks details about the history of the rumored Jizo statue and stone mortar grave.
Safety information	15/20	The official website lists the contact information for the interment/reburial service, the address and phone number of the management office, seasonal opening hours, and regular closing days.
Newness of information	10/15	The rumor page was updated on September 15, 2026, but the update date displayed on the Kushiro City procedure page is August 25, 2022, so there is a time lag between the two.
Transparency of the source of rumors	7/10	While the locations of rumors, personal accounts, and comments can be identified, the original sources for the Jizo statues and accidents cannot be confirmed.
total	74/100	This is the overall quality of the materials. It does not represent the degree of truthfulness or danger associated with the supernatural phenomena.

Safety information and maps

Kushiro City provides contact information for the Shiundai Cemetery's administrative office, seasonal opening hours, and closing days. Please do not enter the cemetery at night for purposes other than visiting graves or interring ashes, touch the Jizo statues or gravestones, or photograph other visitors. Prioritize the instructions of the administrative office and the signs posted on site.

Check the area around Shiondai Cemetery on Google Maps.

What I learned by crossing locations

What the three locations have in common is that the rumor pages specifically describe ghosts, voices, photographs, Jizo statues, and past events, while the official/management pages mainly present standard management information such as location, plots, opening hours, and procedures. At Satozuka Cemetery, we were able to confirm the area and number of plots in Sapporo City; at Makomanai Takino Cemetery, we were able to confirm the Head Buddha Hall and opening hours as indicated by the manager; and at Shiundai Cemetery, we were able to confirm the number of plots as a municipal cemetery and the management office. At Makomanai Takino Cemetery, one element of the facility overlaps between the rumor description and the official information, so there is some agreement, but this does not mean that it supports the female ghost or the paranormal photograph. The remaining two locations cannot be measured because there are no independent records in this combination that support or refute the claims of paranormal phenomena or accidents. The key point of the comparison is not to treat the existence of the postings, the existence of the facilities, or the occurrence of events as evidence in themselves.

summary

What we were able to confirm this time is that the three locations are real cemeteries and burial grounds in Hokkaido, that different rumors are posted on external pages for each, and that official and administrator documents show the usual locations and management methods. The occurrence of the male ghost, voice, and phone calls at Satozuka Cemetery, and the ghost, figure, Jizo statue, and traffic accident at Shiundai Cemetery cannot be confirmed based solely on the administrator documents we obtained directly this time. We were able to confirm the facility element of the Head Buddha Hall at Makomanai Takino Cemetery, but this does not prove any paranormal activity. Leaving the claims of unconfirmed information, we have separated the sources of the rumors, the scope of official records, and the primary sources that may be needed next into a format that can be read separately.

FAQ

Does "unmeasurable" mean that the rumor is false?

No. What I mean is that the combination of the rumor page and the official/administrator pages we obtained this time is not enough to support or refute the claims. We are not concluding that the rumors do not exist simply because the official announcement does not mention any strange occurrences.

If the existence of a facility or cemetery can be confirmed, does that count as a partial match?

No. Physical information such as location, number of sections, opening hours, and the Great Buddha Hall may be clues pointing to the same facility, but they do not corroborate the sighting of spirits or the occurrence of curses. We will only treat a portion of a rumor as a partial match if the specific elements contained in the rumor and the official record point to the same subject or fact.

May I go and check out the rumors in person?

Please refrain from nighttime ghost hunting, unauthorized photography within the cemetery, and entering restricted areas or restricted zones. Prioritize opening hours, information from the management office, and on-site signage, and take actions that do not obstruct passage or worship. If you encounter any dangerous or suspicious situations, please consult the regular safety office.