On Maya mountain in central Japan there’s an old hotel famous in the haikyo scene for one particular setting- a silent corner room with floor-to-ceiling windows. There’s a desk and chair, the walls are brown and peeling, and the windows let in delicious warm light through the overgrown mountain forest outside. Photos of it can be found in many haikyo books and magazines. Of course I wanted to get that photograph. Any completionist haikyoist in Japan needs it to round out his/her collection. So I went to get it: 3 shot HDR bracket with d90 and Tokina 11-16mm, with selective …
Nara Dreamland: Japan’s last abandoned theme park
Nara Dreamland is the epitome of many haikyo dreams; an abandoned theme park with all its roller-coasters and rides still standing. I’ve heard many stories of haikyoists arriving only to be either deterred by the cameras, sensors, alarms and fines, or actually physically expelled by the furious security guard. For my visit I decided to bypass those risks altogether, and entered by night. You can buy prints here. Orion (you can see the 3 stars of his belt) behind the Dreamland castle. Buy prints here. Nara Dreamland opened in 1961, inspired by Disneyland in California. For 45 years its central …
The abandoned resort of Hanultari on Jeju island
Hanultari was our second abandoned resort on the Korean island of Jeju. We saw it while cruising to Ilchulbong volcano crater in a taxi, barely peeking through the mist. After climbing up the crater, which was completely covered in mist and thus invisible to us, we got our driver to take us back to the ruin. He stood by his taxi and watched (probably a bit bemused) as we clambered the hotel`s half-built skeleton and took photos of each other posing. Unfortunately, the mist and my old Powershot camera combined to make most of the pictures pretty awful. Here`s a …
The ruins of Monkey Island
No, not the game. This particular Monkey Island (‘Sarushima’ in Japanese) is located off the coast of Yokosuka near the mouth of Tokyo Bay, and during World War II served as an artillery battery and first point of defense of the Japanese homeland. After the war the anti-aircraft guns were removed, a ferry service began, the beach was opened to tourists, and walking trails were prepared around the various defensive bunkers carved into the rock. Now it’s a great spot for a BBQ and some sun-bathing. Long walkway troughs cut through the jungle and rock.
Ruins of the USAF base Camp Drake in Japan
Camp Drake was a joint US Army/Air Force base in Saitama, active until the 1970`s. It contained a hospital which handled troops coming out of Vietnam and also a communications array. Now about half of it remains, an overgrown jungle with only a few remaining buildings set back behind several layers of fencing. The other half has been eaten up by parks and a junior high school. Tanks in a shed by the commissary.
Izu roadside haikyo
Here`s a haikyo I chanced upon almost a year ago in Izu, while haikyoing with Mike (and Jason?). It`s not particularly awesome in any way, it just has some nice peeling red and white paint, and a cool Coke fridge. Front yard.
Japan’s abandoned Jungle theme park #3 souvenirs
Across the road from Jungle Park was this smashed-up restaurant/souvenir shop. I`ll guess it wasn`t actually connected to the theme park, though it probably survived on the tourists who came there. Inside it felt inhabited, with clothes hanging on rails to dry, but I didn’t run into anyone.
Japan’s abandoned Jungle theme park #2 inside
Jungle Park was easily the biggest green-house I’ve ever been in, and boy was it hot inside. H-O-T. And very humid. Within minutes I was soaked to the skin, and any time I had to climb something I was panting with the exertion. You can probably see that on the video a few times.
Japan’s abandoned Jungle theme park #1 outside
Japan’s Jungle Park is an immense abandoned green house, an indoor botanical garden sheltering nearly 10,000 square meters worth of sweltering tropical habitat. It was built in 1969, and its peak of operation came in 1973 when it received 750,000 visitors per year. By 2003 over 10 million people had passed through its vast and humid acreage, but its facilities were showing their age and fewer and fewer people were coming each year. It was closed in the fall of 2003, and has lain fallow there like a giant white tent for the past seven years. Jungle Park`s main entrance.
Ruin of the White Root Mine
The White Root mine is old, so old that only the faintest outlines of its bones remain. Squint hard and you might see fragments of its ribcage scattered over the hillside, parts of a cracked skull just visible through the topsoil. Once it must have been huge, swathing up and down the valley and pumping out smoke, now there’s just a single slurry run and a few walls left. I went there ages ago, on the same road trip that took me to the Gunma Ski Lift, Hume Cement Factory, and back to the Asama Volcano Museum. Some kind of …