Village of the Dolls (Nagoro Village)

Hidden in the valleys of an island in Japan lies a nearly abandoned village that gives a shock to any who visit. You see, no matter how many people die, the population remains exactly the same. Except 90% of the residents are life-size dolls, and that number is slowly growing. Nagoro, is a relatively untouched and unvisited village located on Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's four main islands. The village is hidden away in a remote portion of the Iya Valley, and is known for having a living population of just around 51 people. It's the non-living population of over 300 live-size dolls, however, that has people talking.  The dolls began appearing 11 years ago, each of them bearing an eerie resemblence to former island residents. Some were waiting for the bus, some were positioned on the playground, and others were sitting alone in the fields. They were fashioned almost like a scarecrow, with old clothing stuffed with straw, but unusually detailed facial expressions that often depicted anger and sadness. Needless to say, they really creeped people out. The story behind the dolls, though, is a sad one. The hand-created, life-size dolls are the creation of Ayano Tsukimi, who returned to her home in Nagoro shortly before the first doll appeared. She was shocked to see how many of her friends, family, and former neighbors had passed away or simply picked up and left the village. Tsukimi first created a doll that looked a lot like her father, and it soon sound that the act of "repopulating" the village was oddly comforting, and she set out to do the same for every former resident.  Today, there are nearly 400 dolls in Nagoro, far more than there are people, and Ken Osetroff, a local tour guide, believes that before long, the artificial people are all that will be left. “It is one of those places that are very difficult to get to, and we are predicting in the next four years it will be abandoned, as everyone is moving away or dying,” Osetroff said. “You cannot find it on a map.” Fortunately, we went ahead and added it to our map, so others can visit the mysterious village for themselves.