The Haunted Story of the Night-and-Day Tunnel (Yohiru Tunnel)

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In the mountains of Ehime Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku, sits a tunnel whose Japanese name literally translates to “night-day”: Yohiru Tunnel (夜昼トンネル). Locals say a woman in white attacks drivers who cross after dark — but the name itself comes from something far more mundane, and far more human.

Where the Name Actually Comes From

Yohiru Tunnel runs beneath Yohiru Pass, a steep mountain crossing on the border between what are now Ozu City and Yawatahama City. Before the tunnel existed, travelers on foot had to climb the pass itself, and the crossing was so arduous that a trip begun in daylight often wasn’t finished until after nightfall — which is generally said to be where the name “Yohiru,” combining the characters for “night” (夜) and “day” (昼), comes from. The modern tunnel that replaced the footpath is roughly 2.1 kilometers long and carries National Route 197, a major link between the Uwakai coastal area near Yawatahama and the Ozu basin further inland.

The Woman in White

The central figure in Yohiru’s ghost story is a spirit dressed in white (白装束) reported specifically during the “ushi no koku” hour — roughly 1 a.m. to 3 a.m., a time window with its own folklore association in Japan tied to curse rituals performed at that hour. Accounts describe more than a passive haunting: drivers report the figure appearing to strike or collide with their moving vehicle, with the impact sometimes only noticed afterward, reflected in a side mirror. Some tellers connect the white clothing and the specific hour to ushi no koku mairi, a traditional nocturnal curse ritual, rather than treating her as an accident victim in the usual sense.

A Pass That Killed Travelers Long Before the Road Did

What separates Yohiru from tunnels whose hauntings trace to a single construction accident is the pass itself: the mountain crossing was difficult and reportedly claimed lives among travelers making the trip on foot, well before any tunnel or paved road existed. Traffic accidents have also occurred in the tunnel since. Between the historical toll of the pass and the modern accidents inside the bore, there are multiple, separate sources a local haunting could plausibly be anchored to — which may be part of why the woman-in-white story doesn’t point to one clean origin story the way many tunnel legends do.

Can You Visit?

Yohiru Tunnel carries National Route 197, a working national highway — it is not abandoned or sealed. Visitors driving through specifically for the reputation should remember it’s a real mountain route with real traffic and blind curves, and that the ushi no koku hour associated with the legend falls in the dead of night on an unlit rural highway.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Yohiru Tunnel still an active road?

Yes. It carries National Route 197 and remains a functioning link between Yawatahama and Ozu, unlike many of the sealed, disused tunnels covered elsewhere on this site.

Why does the woman in white appear specifically between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.?

That window corresponds to “ushi no koku,” a time traditionally associated in Japanese folklore with curse rituals performed in white clothing — some tellers connect her appearance directly to that association rather than to a specific traffic or construction death.