Tono, Japan - Since 2017

Yanagita Kunio came to the region during the early Meiji Period and collaborated with Tono native Sasaki Kizen to gather local stories and to publish them in "Legends of Tono" in 1910 as one of the first collections of Japanese folktales. The legends that they transcribed continue to be told today, and story telling performances in Japanese are regularly held at the folk villages, museums and some of the hotels around the town.

One of the most widely known folk creatures of the region is the kappa, a mystical water sprite that resembles a small, humanoid turtle and is believed to lurk around rivers, lakes and ponds. Kappa serve as a reminder of the dangers of water, as they are said to be fond of eating children and cucumbers, but are also beloved, and statues and images of them can be found all around Tono.