In a Tokyo suburb, a bamboo grove no one dares to enter

Ichikawa, Chiba Pref. – Around 30 minutes from Tokyo Station, the neighborhood surrounding JR Moto-Yawata Station gives little warning that anything unusual lies ahead. Trains rumble through the area, one of Chiba Prefecture’s busier commuter districts. Cars move steadily along Route 14.

Across the road rises Ichikawa City Hall, while apartment buildings, shops and bicycle parking fill almost every available patch of land.