Ok well, i have only just encountered a strange figure and i'm unsure of what it is. I have tried looking it up, but barely found anything. What i'm talking about is on the N. Ryoshima Coast, along one of the beaches and at night, a strange ghost like person appears. I cannot talk to them, i cannot attack them, they do not move. They just stand there. Although they do have the speech bubble above them with the smiley face. Each night it also changes colours. What the heck is this?? I'm wondering if maybe it's a glitch of some sort but, it's certainly a strange one. To encounter it, i did this exact thing each time:

WARNING, Possible Spoilers

Somewhen after completing the Dragon Palace missions and retrieving the Dragon Orb, Orca should be regularly available to sail the seas. This is exactly what i do. I make sure it's daytime to begin with. Hop onto Orca and listen to it to start sailing. I then change to night time while riding him, although it won't ACTUALLY change until you hop off. I then sail him over to the beaches in-between the old couple's home and the Fish Restaurant, with the stream going out to sea. Orca cannot go down the stream, so get as far down it as you can. Once as far as possible, jump off. It will turn to Night and hopefully, this Coast Ghost will be standing there (Also the exact same place where during the day, Old Urashima and the bullies are found).

To see it's various colours, change to day, hop onto the Orca. Start sailing and draw the moon to change to night, jump back off and it shall actually turn to night again. Visit the same place and he/she/it should be there, as a different colour.

I hope other can get this to work and hopefully explain what the heck it is, 'cause it's creeping me out a little :P