Ghost of Yotei The Way of the Yari Walkthrough

Train, duel, and skewer flying fish to earn your legendary Yari skills.

The Way of the Yari is a Sensei Tale in Ghost of Yotei that unlocks after you complete The Road to Ishikari Plain. It’s an optional side activity, not mandatory for the main tale The Oni, but you can complete it to get the Yari (one of the powerful weapons) from the Yari Master. It’s a Japanese spear that is very effective against the sickles Oni Raiders use to fight Atsu in Ishikari Plain. Below is a full walkthrough on how to complete The Way of the Yari in Ghost of Yotei.

How to Start The Way of the Yari in Ghost of Yotei

Ghost of Yotei map with marker on Modaiwa Island to reach Yari Master.

The Way of the Yari automatically unlocks once you reach Ishikari Plain in Chapter 1: The Lone Wolf. Atsu will recall rumors of a Yari Master living on Modaiwa Island, just off the western coast, on a small island. Your first objective is to search for the Yari Master.

Atsu at master place standing beside Yari stuck in the ground - Ghost of Yotei

Head west from Ishikari Market until you reach Howling Cove. From there, cross the path from the left edge through the water to reach the island. Ride moving upward, and take the left ahead to get to the exact Yari master location. Once there, interact with the Yari with a blue cloth piece stuck in the middle of the ground to wield it.

Duel the Yari Master

Yari Master first encounter with Atsu Ghost of Yotei

Right when you interact with spear, the Yari master appears and thinks you are another Oni Raider after his head for bounty reward and challenges you. This short duel is less about winning and more about restraint.

Atsu's duel with Yari Master - The Way of the Yari Ghost of Yotei

The master of course uses Yari for the fight, but he doesn’t have many attacks up his sleeve. The only serious attack from his end is when a blue light glows near his hands and he strikes you with spare dealing heavy damage.

Use Dual Katanas to counter his moves. Heavy strikes build his stagger quickly, while a few well-timed Kunai or Smoke Bombs can keep him off-balance. When his health drops to about half, a cutscene triggers, the duel ends in a draw, and he will agree to teach you the way to use Yari.

Complete Spear Fish Training with the Yari Master

First spear fish training in the pond - The Way of the Yari Ghost of Yotei

Atsu’s training starts at dawn the next morning, and since you are new with no practice, the master starts by teaching the basics. To get perfect at speed, precision, and timing, your first trial is to spare fish in the air. Follow the master down to the pond to start training.

This minigame is easier said than done. At the start, you will have many failed attempts until you successfully catch a fish. Timing is everything here; use the spare right when the fish starts to fall after its air jump. If you jab too early, you’ll just splash the water.

Ghost of Yotei Sumi-e painting

Once you’ve caught the first one, a cutscene triggers where the master has breakfast with the same fish, but poor Atsu just watches him enjoying himself. Sensei Takahashi then takes you to paint a Sumi-e, a part of the training. It’s easy, simply follow the guidelines on the touchpad to complete it. During the painting process, the master offers some guidance to Atsu to improve her wrist movement. Once your artwork is done, you’ll return to the pond for round two.

Second spear fish training - Ghost of Yotei

With what you have learned, go into the pond and use it all to catch three fish in a row. The window for each strike is more forgiving now that Atsu’s grip is much steady. The first one or two attempts are always hard, but it becomes easy to process once you learned the rhythm. Once done, you now have enough fish to have lunch together with the master. He acknowledges your progress and moves on to the main technique that’s the core of Yari combat.

Learn the Typhoon Kick

Atsu performing Typhoon Kick against Yari Master in Ghost of Yotei

Next comes your first Yari ability, the Typhoon Kick. It’s a heavy, charged attack that can launch enemies off their feet or cliffs. Hold Triangle until Atsu pulls the spear back behind her shoulder, then release to perform Typhoon Kick at the master. You have to perform a few kicks until you do the good one that satisfies Takahashi. It’s slower than a katana’s heavy swing, so learn to read openings first.

Defeat the Oni Raiders

After a hard training till nightfall, it’s dinner time but has been ruined by the Oni Raiders. Now it’s time to put all your Yari skills to the test against raiders. As the master says, Yari is best against kusarigama and twin kama, and the bandit group has both sickle-wielders and katana enemies.

Fighting Oni Raiders with Yari in Ghost of Yotei

Switch between Yari (hold R2 and press triangle) and dual katana (hold R2 and press square) to deal with all:

  • Use Yari to counter sickle-wielding and twin kama enemies.
  • Swap back to Dual Katana for effective duels against swordsmen.

The Typhoon Kick is great here to kick enemies on the ground, letting you control space and break enemy lines easily. Clear out all enemies to complete your final trial.

Ghost of Yotei Yari weapon

When the dust settles, he acknowledges your skills and gives Atsu the powerful version of Yari, which he once gave to his disciple who became the Oni’s target. During the conversation, he will tell his wish to rebuild the new dojo in White Deer Woodlands. You can rescue his students from the Oni Raiders to let them return to the dojo, and also bring the blacksmith he mentioned to help him in his plans. With this cutscene ends the The Way to Yari tale in Ghost of Yotei. Completing his next tale, The Path of the Yari, will unlock a special Spirit Technique exclusive to the Yari weapon.