Seven Japanese taxi drivers from Ishinomaki report picking up fares that disappear. Ishinomaki was a coastal town devastated by the events of 2011; losing over 6,000 people. The tsunami claimed a reported 15,893 people, which means Ishinomaki makes up 37% of those who died in total.
Since that catastrophe taxi drivers are reporting being flagged by someone, they get into the taxi, tell them the destination, and disappear. The accounts of the taxi drivers is startling and since they had to pay for the ghost fares themselves there is no logical reason for them to fabricate these stories. When a taxi driver picks up a fare they start the meter, which is recorded by the company, and when the fares disappear the tab is left for the taxi driver to pay; an unwelcome and expensive surprise.
The accounts of the ghostly passengers was part of a graduate thesis by Yuka Kudo; a 22-year old student at Tohoku Gakuin University. She wanted to tell this story as its importance is far-reaching for not only those impacted by the tsunami, but for the spiritual resonance worldwide. “I learned that the death of each victim carries importance. I want to convey that.” Yuka Kudo is quoted. In her quest to discover any possible paranormal experiences she interviewed a hundred taxi drivers. Most of the drivers did not offer anything beneficial to her quest, or ignored her question, but seven of them recounted tales that would send a shiver up the chilliest of spins.
One driver said he picked up a woman in a coat in early summer, several months after the tsunami.
“Please go to the Minamihama (district),” the woman said.
He told her the area was empty — it had been devastated by the tsunami. Then, she asked a very strange question in a shaking voice.
“Have I died?”
The question was enough to make the driver turn to look in the back seat, but no one was there.
“Young people feel strongly chagrined (at their deaths) As they want to convey their bitterness, they may have chosen taxis, which are like private rooms, as a medium to do so.” Kudo is quoted.Another driver spoke of a man possibly in his 20s who climbed into his cab. He spied the stranger through the rear-view mirror, pointing forward. He asked the man for his destination and the ghost passenger said “Hiyoriyama,” which means mountain. When they arrived, the man vanished.
The drivers did not seem shaken by their experiences, rather honored they should be chosen to be appeared to by these lost souls.
The drivers are not the only people to report ghostly sightings since the tsunami, ghosts have been reported spotted in areas impacted by the earthquake & tsunami as though they were in their regular, daily routine. There were 15,893 confirmed dead with over 2,000 more still reported missing. In a matter of minutes an earthquake and resulting tsunami hastily claimed the lives of so many unsuspecting citizens and visitors to the affected areas.