Visiting the village of Hinamizawa and getting out alive is a miracle that few can boast in fiction, but doing it in real life with its own creator is an experience bordering on epic. To the surprise of the entire community of followers of psychological horror and ancestral curses, Ryukishi07, author of the legendary Higurashi: When They Cry (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) franchise, announced an exclusive guided tour through Shirakawa-go, the picturesque mountain village in Japan that directly inspired the setting of his story.

The event is scheduled for October 25, 2026 at the Shirakawa-go Gasshozukuri Minkaen Open-Air Museum in Gifu Prefecture. During this tour, the renowned writer will be accompanied by a museum curator to explain in detail how the traditional thatched-roof houses and the isolated atmosphere of the region inspired the unsettling atmosphere of Hinamizawa. The experience will be so intimate that only thirty people can attend via a lottery system after applying by email before September 24, receiving a personalized autograph signed directly by the mastermind behind the saga.

With this initiative, the organizers aim for participants to recall the most iconic moments of the work while appreciating the cultural and historical beauty of Shirakawa-go, officially recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. This is not the first time the author has used real locations for his grim creations, as he also used the narrow streets of Kanayama in Gero city as a model for the setting of the video game Silent Hill f.

This historical walk comes at a perfect time to revive nostalgia, just as the franchise prepares for a new animated chapter. After starting as an independent visual novel developed by the circle 07th Expansion in the early 2000s and expanding to manga and video games, the story conquered television in 2006 with its first animated adaptation by Studio Deen, followed by a successful second season in 2007 and the recent entries Gou and Sotsu.

The television project announced for 2026 marks Studio Deen’s triumphant return to production, promising an entirely new and fresh tragedy centered on Keiichi and the iconic village club.

The story follows Keiichi Maebara, a student transferred to the peaceful mountain village of Hinamizawa, where he quickly befriends a cheerful group of local girls consisting of Rena, Mion, Shion, Satoko, and Rika. What begins as fun club activities and childhood games gradually transforms into a nightmare of paranoia, brutal violence, and mystery when a series of brutal murders coincides with the arrival of the annual Watanagashi festival.

Knowing that walking the lonely streets of Shirakawa-go at dusk must give anyone who knows the Watanagashi story goosebumps, would you dare to join this tour with Ryukishi07 or would you be afraid of encountering the curse of Oyashiro-sama?