Considering the state of the first floor, and the random bits and bobs pictured in part 1, it wasn’t at all surprising to find that the hotel had its last guests and then locked up for good in the early 1990s.
Plus, when one heads to the higher floors, it’s similarly unsurprising to discover that it started doing business in the summer of 1973, as the decor is still undoubtedly of that decade.
And seeing that it obviously wasn’t changed once in the twenty years or so it was operational, it’s no surprise either that the hotel eventually surrendered to insolvency. As walks down the numerous corridors.
Along with a rummage around in the large number of rooms.
Resulted in nothing but the same colour schemes.
And wallpaper that wouldn’t be exactly what most people would want to wake up to.
In fact the only real difference was the state of disrepair.
Which no amount of dandyism can now hope to disguise.
And yet for those people who did stay here, the hotel at least offered some really quite lovely views.
Which could well have been nice to have a coffee by.
But now, after nearly twenty years of being left abandoned to nothing but birds, everything sits silent and soiled.
Meaning no room service.
No room calls.
And definitely no sitting in one’s room and relaxing in front of The Rockford Files.
For more haikyo, the whole archive can be seen here. Or, for more selective viewing, my particular favourites are, Nichitsu mining town, Japan Snake Center, Kawatana Special Attack Unit Training Centre, the Higashi Izu-cho Isolation Ward and Mount Asama Volcano Museum.
Michael says
Interesting decor! Always nice to see sunny colours fading in a haikyo :).
Do you have a macro lens Lee? You might want to try some of that sort of photography to capture tinier details in haikyo. It’s probably next on my list…
Lee says
No, I don’t have a macro michael. Never really considered getting one to be honest. But now you mention it, it’s an interesting idea.
Aldos says
Excellent! I Really enjoy these installments. Like the TV picture the best.
Lee says
Thanks! There was actually one TV that had been thrown out of the window rock ‘n’ roll style, but I didn’t manage to get a picture of it.
Johan says
Hyikyo is so interesting to me. I have seen some abandoned factories when I was younger over here in the states. But most of the time the site was already gutted. You would think that there would be some premo pickings for the poor/homeless to scrounge for or is it frowned upon to take from hyikyo even in a dire situation? Great Pictures Lee, thanks!
Lee says
Thanks Johan!
There were actually signs that people had lived in parts of the hotel at some point in the past. Lots of empty food packets and the like. Something I’ve seen in quite a few haikyo actually. Not nice places by any stretch of the imagination, but I guess they must beat sleeping on the streets…
James says
Can’t wait till you start getting pictures of left Iphones in these places.
c says
mount asama has always been my favorite. keep up the great work!
Lee says
Thanks! Yeah, it’s one of mine too. Possibly the perfect mix of an interesting structure as well a good selection of stuff left behind.
Lizzy says
Fantastic. As always. Is that a night-stand with a clock/radio built into it? How fun. ^_^ I’ve always kind of liked the yellow/orange/brown 70’s theme. And you nailed it, that window view is phenomenal.
Lee says
Thanks Lizzy! Yeah, a clock and radio combo, as well as light switches too I think. Obviously very high-tech at the time!
Florian says
Great sequel, I really like your style of taking pictures!
Maybe you mentioned it somewhere on your site and I missed it – but what camera / lens do you take your photos with?
Lee says
Thanks a lot Florian.
Camera-wise I use a Nikon D300, and for my haikyo shots I almost always use the Nikkor 35mm f/2. I flirted briefly with getting a really wide angle, but as it’s the details that really fascinate me, I decided there was no point.
Kelliente says
Check out that awesome alarm clock radio! What a shame that this place is now destroyed. I’m sure lots of hipsters would’ve loved to stay in a retro place like this.
SugarPunk says
Wow – I’m so jealous you got to wander around in these fantastic rooms… love the atmosphere. Must’ve been quite an experience