Summary
Near Midorogaike Pond in Kyoto, Japan, a chilling story tells of a taxi driver who picked up a mysterious female passenger during a nighttime journey. The woman reportedly requested a destination near the pond, an area long associated with local supernatural traditions. When the driver looked back, his passenger had vanished, leaving behind an inexplicably wet seat. The story became one of Kyoto's best-known ghost-taxi legends. A newspaper report from October 1969 is associated with the tale, although the details of the supposed encounter and the identity of the driver remain uncertain. No paranormal explanation has been verified.
Additional Notes
In the early hours of October 6, 1969, a taxi driver in Kyoto reportedly experienced an encounter that would become one of Japan's most enduring ghost stories. At approximately 1:30 AM, the 29-year-old driver had just dropped off three passengers near Kyoto University's medical faculty. While he was completing his paperwork, someone knocked on the partly open passenger-side window. A woman, apparently around forty years old, stood outside. Her hair hung loosely to her shoulders, and her face looked unusually thin and pale. She asked whether he could take her somewhere. After entering the taxi, she quietly requested a journey to Midorogaike, a secluded pond on the northern outskirts of Kyoto. During the drive, the woman remained silent. The driver later stated that he had checked his rear-view mirror several times and clearly seen her sitting behind him. Approximately ten minutes later, the taxi reached the pond. The driver asked his passenger exactly where she wished to stop. There was no answer. When he turned around, the back seat was empty. According to the account published in the Asahi Shimbun on October 7, 1969, the place where the woman had been sitting was covered with a brownish liquid. Alarmed that his passenger might somehow have fallen from the moving vehicle, the driver sought help. Four police vehicles reportedly searched the surrounding area for approximately one hour, but no woman matching his description was found. Police also found no reported hit-and-run accident along the route that might explain her disappearance. An additional coincidence made the incident seem even stranger: a vehicle belonging to Kyoto University's anatomy department was reportedly parked near the pond, while the mysterious passenger had entered the taxi near the university's medical faculty. The newspaper documented the driver's extraordinary account and the reported police response. It did not establish that the passenger was a ghost. Over time, the incident became intertwined with older supernatural traditions associated with Midorogaike. In popular retellings, the woman is often described as wearing white, travelling on a rainy night and leaving a soaking-wet seat behind. Some versions claim she had recently died at a hospital. These details vary between accounts and should not automatically be treated as facts from the 1969 report. Midorogaike itself has long been surrounded by local legends. Its marshy waters, unusual floating vegetation and association with traditional supernatural beliefs provide a memorable setting for the story. The case also resembles the internationally widespread vanishing hitchhiker legend, in which a mysterious passenger disappears from a vehicle before reaching the destination. What makes the Kyoto version distinctive is its documented connection to a specific newspaper report and an identifiable location. Whether the driver's experience resulted from a misunderstanding, an unexplained disappearance or the later embellishment of an unusual incident remains uncertain. No reliable evidence has established a supernatural cause. Yet more than half a century later, the story of the silent passenger and the empty back seat remains one of Kyoto's most memorable urban legends.
The Location Today
Midorogaike Pond is a real freshwater wetland in Kyoto's Kita Ward, renowned for its distinctive ecosystem and floating vegetation. It is protected for its natural scientific importance and can be viewed from surrounding public roads. The reported taxi journey ended near the pond, but no precise stopping point has been independently established. Visitors should remain on permitted paths and respect the protected wetland environment.
- Environment
- Lake, Road
- Time of Day
- Early Morning, approximately 1:30 AM
- Evidence Level
- Newspaper Report
- Visiting the Location
- Limited
- Ownership of the Location
- Public