In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, Shea and Jody wander straight into the delightfully unhinged heart of Japanese folklore, where the landscapes are beautiful, the temples are ancient, and the raccoon dogs have… opinions. And tricks. And extremely versatile anatomy.

Fresh off Shea's travels through Nagano, the conversation opens with reflections on Japan’s quiet magic — misty mountains, timeless streets, and the spiritual gravity of places like Zenkoji Temple, where centuries of belief hang in the air like incense smoke. From there, things take a turn. A tanuki-shaped turn.

Enter the Tanuki: real animal, legendary menace, folkloric chaos goblin. Known in English as the Japanese raccoon dog, the tanuki occupies a strange and wonderful space where biology collides with myth. Shea and Jody dig into how this very real creature became one of Japan’s most beloved tricksters — a shapeshifter, a prankster, and a master of illusion who delights in confusing humans, impersonating monks, and generally causing low-stakes supernatural nonsense.

And then there’s the scrotum.

Yes, that scrotum. In tanuki folklore, it’s not just anatomy — it’s a multipurpose magical object capable of stretching, transforming, disguising, and occasionally funding a night out. Shea and Jody unpack how this bizarre detail isn’t just crude humor for humor’s sake, but ties back to real historical practices, particularly Kanazawa’s gold-leaf industry, where tanuki legends became symbols of wealth, flexibility, and good fortune. Folklore, it turns out, is nothing if not practical.

Along the way, the episode explores why tanuki statues are everywhere in Japan — outside restaurants, shops, temples, and bars — grinning, wide-eyed, eternally mid-prank. These statues aren’t just cute roadside oddities; they’re cultural shorthand for prosperity, humor, and a reminder not to take life too seriously. Or at least to keep an eye on your wallet when magical animals are nearby.

The discussion weaves together travel stories, religious history, art, pop culture, and the enduring appeal of a creature that refuses to behave. From ancient tales to modern anime, the tanuki continues to evolve, shape-shift, and bounce gleefully through Japanese storytelling, dragging its legends — and its lucky bag — right along with it.

It’s an episode about Japan’s ability to hold beauty and absurdity in the same breath. About sacred spaces and silly stories. About how folklore survives because it entertains as much as it teaches. And about a mischievous raccoon dog whose legacy proves that sometimes, the weirdest stories are the ones that stick the longest.

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Shea is back from her Japan adventure and is bringing you some of Japan's most captivating legends!

Today, not only does Shea share some insights into driving in Japan, Japanese bathing culture, castles as adult museums, and toilets, she brings the tale of one of Japan's most terrifying Yokai and urban legends, Kuchisake-onna or the Slit-Mouthed Woman.

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In this special episode swap, listeners are swept into the ghost-laden corridors of the legendary Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado—the real-world inspiration behind The Shining. Through rich storytelling and a flair for the uncanny, Ani Khajadourian of Audibly Haunted resurrects the hotel’s past: the 1911 explosion that shook room 217, the resilient chambermaid Elizabeth Wilson who still tidies up from beyond the grave, the spectral children racing down the fourth-floor halls, and the gentlemanly cowboy ghost who warms room 428 with a phantom’s charm. Each floor, each door, each whisper carries a century of mystery. The living check out, but the hotel’s other guests never do.

Make sure to visit Audibly Haunted on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen, and engage with us on social media to share your thoughts or your own ghost stories.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/audibly-haunted/id1705358960

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