Hi guys
Been living in Japan for around 6 months now. I have noticed when travelling around, especially when traveling around the country side that there are lots and lots of seemingly abandoned buildings. You can see abandoned buildings here in the UK but there are far fewer of them. The government usually knocks them down / or forces the owner to knock down or repair through the courts but in Japan that doesn’t seem so common. The abandoned buildings in the UK are much rarer out side of industrial places. They are also usually littered with drug needles. Does anyone know why Japan has so many houses / buildings falling apart in Japan. I’ve even seen buildings like this in front of train stations. In between all the shiny new buildings there’s sometimes just one random house falling apart.
As strange as this sounds I love looking at abandoned decaying buildings. When I was a child I came across a site in Japanese filled with these abandoned places with images of giant casinos, theme parks and hotels etc. in my mind I just used to think how can such big and unique places just get abandoned like this? As an adult I can’t find a website quite like the one I used like 15 years ago. Does anyone know of any websites sites where they have 100’s / preferably 1000’s of photos of these buildings and there insides, and explanations about them. A website in Japanese is ok as I can more or less read it now.
The second question is does anyone know of any places where I can actually see some of your favourite ruins / abandoned places in Japan. My preference is in North Japan but any where will do. Don’t worry I’m not planning on breaking into these places or risking my life / or arrest. So far I’ve found quiet a few disused shrines etc but I want more
Thanks, Sam
2 comments
I don’t know of anything in particular but a quick google shows me there are several urbex communities in Japan with their own websites
When Japan lost the Pacific War, private law was drastically revised and the government’s power was severely restricted from encroaching on private property. As a result, Japan’s aging population has created a social problem of vacant houses. In response to this problem, ordinances have been created to allow the government to take properties that have no heirs and to demolish vacant houses through strict legal procedures.