Top 5 Ruins of the Sex Industry

Mike GristBest Of, Sex Industry 4 Comments

In ruins the hidden secrets of sex are laid bare. All our most intimate truths come out in the wash. The den of our fornication will rot and mold will form on the sheets where we grunted out our last passions. Sex. In life, as in death, it’s a messy business. Here are five ruined dens of sex from around Japan. 1. The Akasaka Love Hotel ‘Love Hotels’ are a lot like roadside motels, designed with the express purpose of facilitating ‘relations’ between Japanese couples who still live at home, and have no access to a bedroom away from their …

Boyou Hotel Haikyo- Demolished

Mike GristChiba 3 Comments

A few weeks back I took the bus down to the bottom of the Chiba Boso Peninsula in search of the Boyou Hotel. I got to take the sub-Tokyo Bay Aqualine for the first time, which was cool, but I felt too ill to enjoy being on the Umi Hotaru.

Volcano Museum 3. Return in HDR

Mike GristGunma, Haikyo, Museums 22 Comments

This was my second time to go to the Asama Volcano Museum. The first was on my first haikyo road trip back in 2007- back when I was packing only a cameraphone to shoot with and cared far more about the explore than I did about the photography.

Volcano Museum 2. History

Mike GristGunma, Haikyo, Museums 8 Comments

The Mt. Asama Volcano Museum was a mould-breaking facility opened in 1967, offering insight into the life-cycle of the most active volcano in Honshu (the main island of Japan), and into the area of volcanic rock surrounding it known as Oni Oshi Dashi (exiled demons).

Haikyo 2009 Poll

Mike GristHaikyo 6 Comments

In the previous post, the 10 Most Popular Haikyo of 2009, several people suggested I put up a poll so you can vote directly for your favorites. Well, here it is. I’ve started with the top 30 most popular on the site, though there are of course more. If there’s any you’d like to vote for that I didn’t include, I can easily add them. You get three votes. If you need to check up on some of them to refresh your memory, that’s easily done in the Ruins / Haikyo Gallery.

Top 10 Haikyo 2009

Mike GristBest Of 15 Comments

Haikyoing is kind of an addiction. Every time I get back from a long haikyo weekend, trudging through dusty overgrown schoolhouses and factories, I say to myself- ‘that’ll do, pig’. But then a few weeks or months later I’m always out there again, doing much the same thing, striving for a more authentic experience, a more exciting explore, more mind-blowing shots. Sometimes I get it and sometimes I don’t, and resultingly sometimes the articles I post here find a larger audience and sometimes they don’t. Here you can find the most popular posts of the year, sorted not by me …