Dam management finds laughably clever way to deter nighttime thrill-seekers in Japan【Video】

https://ift.tt/2Xt1ypu Krista Rogers

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, including this team of workers who used their own local brand of heroism to prank visitors at night. 

At 129 meters (423 feet) in height, Shimokubo Dam (straddling the border of Gunma and Saitama Prefectures) is pretty ‘dam’ tall, and it attracts plenty of attention from visitors seeking a good photo-op for the surrounding natural scenery. In addition, there are even rumors of paranormal activity on a particular section of a red bridge that’s part of the structure, which causes many teenagers to dare each other to head on over at night when the environmental conditions might be dangerous.

Twitter user @mogi_8810, who enjoys posting information about local items of interest throughout Gunma Prefecture, recently shared a viral post about the clever manner in which the dam management team decided to combat this surplus of thrill-seekers:

心霊スポットで有名な下久保ダムは夜な夜な肝試しに多くの人が訪れる。困ったダム管理事務所は怖い雰囲気を台無しにする為にご当地ヒーローのダムセイバーの音楽を大音量で流すようにしました。そしたら心霊マニアじゃなくてB級スポットマニアがや… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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もぎ@群馬Bスポ (@mogi_8810) November 02, 2019

“The famous Shimokubo Dam is believed to be a haunted spot. Every single night people come to challenge themselves in tests of courage. The dam management office was finally fed up and came up with an ingenious idea to spoil the spooky atmosphere–they blare the local ‘Dam Saver’ heroes’ music on giant speakers. Now people don’t come for the haunted aspect–they come for the quirky B-grade thrill of it all.”

In lieu of eerie silence, nighttime visitors are now blasted with the theme song of the local ‘Dam Saver’ heroes who serve as the dam’s very own personal protectors. The upbeat music and lyrics certainly kill the spooky vibe and make it hard to believe that there are scary ghosts hanging around…

▼ The local Dam Saver heroes for reference

@mogi_8810 参考画像 https://t.co/BCBeVahwUG

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山奇ドル (@doll_g_jp) November 02, 2019

▼ The full theme song “Water Fantasia” by Kenichi Murakami is quite catchy!

The solution garnered enough attention to even be featured in a short news piece. The following clip introduces the Dam Saver heroes in person, interviews a few anonymous nighttime visitors about their deflated sense of excitement after hearing the music, and interviews a worker who has never seen any ghosts in his 50 years of working there:

埼玉と群馬の県境にある下久保ダム 夜中に若者が集まり迷惑行為を繰り返しているといいます。 霊が出るという根拠のないうわさが流れ、肝試しに訪れる若者が続出。 困った地元が考えたのは、ご当地ヒーローの活用でした。 （映像提供：日… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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こんなにいっぱい❗️ご当地ヒーロー応援垢 (@reflesh_time) November 17, 2019

General net reactions leaned on the side of amusement, with many praising the simple but effective tactic:

“I love stupid hijinks like this.”
“Seems like it will scare the deer away, too.”
“Ghosts: ‘Oh no! We’re going to be exterminated by those guys!'”
“I wonder if this plan will backfire and make more people want to go.”
“On the contrary, the music playing at night is scarier to me…”
“If the music stopped suddenly I think I’d be terrified!”

It turns out that the blaring music was actually implemented over a year ago, but thanks to @mogi_8810’s post the story is just now trending on the net. It sounds like the Dam Saver heroes might have a lot of protecting to do in the coming weeks if more visitors start showing up, so might we suggest something else to do instead?

Source: Twitter/@mogi_8810 via My Game News Flash
Featured image: Pakutaso
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