Western Village first opened its doors back in the early 1970s. Originally quite a modest affair known as Kinugawa Family Ranch, the Wild West theme park did well and gradually expanded, hence the name change. Yet despite such success, changing times resulted in changing fortunes, and in 2006 it was forced to close — meaning that the park now sits empty and forlorn by the side of the road. An odd, wholly unexpected sight in a relatively sparsely populated area a few hours north of Tokyo.
Increasingly battered by the weather and years of neglect, it nonetheless still retains the look one would expect.
Visiting at the end of a politically tumultuous 2016, however, it wasn’t these out of place structures that made an impact. Instead, it was the park’s haunted looking residents and their unintended, yet no less terrifying depiction of a world turned utterly upside down. The world in which we currently live in, basically.
Considering its theme, and the period in which Western Village opened, it’s perhaps not surprising that one particular, distinctly larger-than-life personality was chosen to front it.
And, as a follicly challenged right winger with a weirdly orange complexion, such a choice seems disturbingly prescient.
So now, instead of an innocent recreation of all things cowboy-related, this celebrity led world feels like a truly disturbing vision of a potentially very near future. One in which the inner machinations and ulterior motives of those pulling the presidential strings are very much to the fore.
While those set to benefit blithely carry on — wilfully ignorant of the slow, piecemeal disintegration of everything they are supposed to stand for.
And such blatant disregard for procedure and accountability is cynically carried out while the masses are kept mostly in the dark by complicit organisations happy — or at the very least content — to peddle untruths and create distractions.
Leaving those in opposition vilified, confused and increasingly isolated.
Rendering them utterly unable to stop the legacy of a once proud party being completely desecrated.
The whole horrid state of affairs culminating in a genuinely great country being reduced to nothing but its greatest fear(s).
Al says
Whoah, those last two pics!! 😮 But hey, there are checks and balances. The next few years may not be great, but things are gonna be ok.
Lee says
That last scene in particular was striking to say the least.
That’s what I’m hoping…
SirLizard says
Yeah, I used to trust our nation’s balance of powers, but that won’t really work if all three branches of our government are controlled by one party, and nobody (or not enough legislators) within that party, nor the opposing party, are brave enough to stand up to the mob mentality that they’ll be facing. The media has been completely discredited, so lies are now the truth, and the truth is lies, so all it will take now is for our militarized police forces and our armed forces to be led by a few bigoted leaders who like the kinds of things that the new administration wants to do and suddenly our long-held checks and balances become unchecked and unbalanced.
“When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the game is over.”
Lee says
Yes, I’m sadly just as pessimistic. There really does seem little will or ability to stop the abuse and lies, and the man isn’t actually in power yet. Goodness what things are going to be like in the coming weeks, months, and as much as I hate to say it, years to come. I suppose we just have to wait, hope and see. Maybe, just maybe, things won’t be as bad as we fear, but it’s not looking very promising, is it…?
Will says
What proof do any of you have that the next administration in America is going to bring this much doom and gloom…. are you really that sore of losers to spout off with so much preconceived pessimism!?
Lee says
Preconceived? Preconceived?! Come on. I do believe that in many ways we are hard wired when it comes to political views, but are you really trying to say that the last 18 months or so didn’t happen, and that Trump has been a man of restraint, diplomacy and consistency?
We are talking the most powerful position in the world here, not the leader of a boy scout group. How is it even possible not to be concerned?
Michael Wolf says
If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then why are you people always so convinced it’s not going to shit in your pond. Donald Trump has shown you what a horrific human being is every step of the way. Any time you try to ascribe a virtue or moral or party ideal to him he goes on a rampage of being stupid, offensive, and insulting of the Republican party and it’s Conservative ideals. What proof do you have that the next administration isn’t going to continue to lie to you, steal your money, and laugh at you just like he’s been doing all along?
David Gould says
Very creative and haunting presentation!
Lee says
Cheers! It wasn’t what I intended when heading out there, but once I started exploring, the connections with the current political situation just seemed to be everywhere. Hence the somewhat different approach.
cdilla says
That’s a great set of photographs. The detail of the decay you have captured is incredible. I am suprised how dry everything looks after ten years abandoned.
The similarity to that other folically challenged cowboy and his mechanical underpinnings is quite striking too.
I like the wanted posters too, but wonder whether $25,000 was really the reward back in the 1870s – seems an awful lot of money.
With regards the politics – the idiot masses of countries that enjoy peace and democracy are all too easily lead by those who control the media outlets leading to the situations we see now in the UK and US. Fortunately, as Al says, there are checks and balances, put in place by people who could forsee the abuses of power. But if the masses don’t take the rings out of their noses those checks and balances will be eroded and eventually removed.
Lee says
Thanks. Yeah, all things considered it wasn’t in bad shape at all, although some parts were definitely worse than others. A few of the buildings were actually starting to collapse. More harsh winters and things could start to look very different.
Good spot. Hadn’t noticed the reward. They must have allowed for inflation!
Yeah, I don’t know what to think anymore. Trying to look on the bright side has become increasingly difficult. Simply impossible on many days. Goodness knows where the paths the US and Uk are on will take us, but time will inevitably tell….
d.minnis says
Ok Lee, I have to know……..was this a break and enter or did you have permission? Loved all the pictures, you did a great job as usual.
Lee says
Thank you very much. That’s good to hear.
It was neither. Simply strolled in through the door below the Western Village sign in the first photo. Oddly it was easier to get in than when the park was actually open.
Lizzy M says
Certainly not the commentary I was expecting, but appropriate. Eerily so. As Al said, with the checks & balances hopefully things won’t be allowed to get too bad, but then… I certainly never believed they would get as far as they have. Then again, I’m sure there were people who never thought they’d see the country literally divided in half. So, as bleak and scary as this post is on the surface, perhaps there is a bit of hope hidden in there.
Also, I particularly like the animatronic Lincoln. I wonder what he sounded like.
Lee says
Yeah, not at all the story I planned to tell either. It was definitely the one I found though.
With some of the checks and balanced seemingly already abused, it doesn’t bode well, but like you say, we just have to hope things don’t get too bad. Shows how bad things are though when you are simply hoping things don’t turn out too bad…
Yes, the Lincoln figure was a huge surprise. And likewise, would have loved to see him in action.
cdilla says
Well, I couldn’t find anything regarding the Lincoln figure, but this vid https://youtu.be/O1ov-GUM0dc shows the working bartender in action. It seems the animatronics were based of “real” people – this one being Charles Bronson and the prone guy by the stagecoach is John Wayne.
This vid https://youtu.be/MQrXFo2ww1A is apparantly a short promo for the park.
Lee says
Excellent. Thanks. Hadn’t even thought of looking for videos.
Fascinating to see the figures working. They were surpringly lifelike too considering how old they must be. Odd to see everything nice and tidy as well — it’s a very different sight now…
GenjiG says
You have found Westworld! ðŸ¤
Lee says
Yes, pretty much!
Bruno says
Spoilers for the next episodes?
Lee says
Haha, quite possibly. The John Wayne storyline will not doubt cause lots of chatter!
GenjiG says
Have you seen you’ve been noticed? 😄
http://kotaku.com/its-like-westworld-but-for-real-1791157614
But I spotted it first 😉
Lee says
Haha, thanks, I have. But way after you saw it!
Sir John Francis says
Wow, thanks for sharing.
Lee says
You are very welcome.
Kyouko says
Cool pics but edgy commentary.
Lee says
Cheers.
Not my usual approach, but that’s how it felt when exploring the place, so to have done a usual write up would have seemed dishonest.
Daniel says
Great pictures!
Lee says
Thank you. Very easy when presented with such interesting subjects!
Mike says
This is great stuff. Commentary was a little edgy but if that’s what you felt then se la vie 🙂
I truly enjoy finding & learning about things & places like this.
Thanks
Lee says
Thank you. Good to hear you enjoyed the photos. It’s definitely a unique place to spend a few hours.
Duke says
You liberal snowflakes are so freaked out about Hitlary losing that you even see doom and gloom for America in a run down country and western amusement park? You have let the liberal media fool you into believing the end is near because the new man in town is corrupt. That’s why we needed a change from the last 50 years of politics as usual. Learn to think for yourself and see the baggage the old woman in town would have brought with her. You’re seeing some of it by the way the losers are acting. Trump hasn’t even been sworn in and you liberals are already doing your best Chicken Little impressions and not realizing what good he has done for the country by just being elected. Some major companies have already decided to stay in the US and the stock market is up. Yeah, he’s going to do stuff I don’t like, but I’m willing to give him a chance instead of sitting around reading doom and gloom into everything I see.
Lee says
What’s with all the name calling? You don’t know me, my background, or what I do or don’t deal with on a daily basis. Why must you resort to such bullying, insecure nonsense?
Anyway, to the case in point. I fully appreciate the alternative wasn’t exactly inspiring, but does that mean somebody far worse deserves a shot just ‘cos they pretend to be an outsider? Trump is even less an outsider than his British partner in crime, Nigel Farage. Two incredibly privileged (and sadly bigoted) men who hoodwinked millions. And it’s those millions, I fear, who will pay the price — not the fabulously wealthy like the incoming president and his ilk.
And please don’t bang on like they do about the supposedly all powerful liberal media. Look at the UK. There is The Guardian. A left wing newspaper. And that’s it. Apart from the neutral BBC, the rest of the media outlets are are right wing. Extremely so in regards a good few. I genuinely wish there was a strong liberal media, but there simply isn’t.
But what’s done is done, and very soon he will be president. So I hope you are right. Maybe he will make positive changes. But in the free world, why am I not supposed to articulate my fears and concerns? Is that wrong? You won. Your man will soon take the reigns. So why can’t you just be a little more magnanimous?
Duke says
Sorry, I didn’t think ‘liberal’ or ‘snowflake’ would be one of your triggers. Guess you’re not used to such profanity while sitting in your safe space drinking chai tea and smoking clove cigarettes with your hipster friends.
Trump may be wealthy but at least he didn’t get that way through bribes and corruption like most people in politics. That’s what makes him an outsider to his base and why so many politicians on both sides hate him. There’s something very wrong with ‘politics as usual’ when a politician goes into office relatively poor and retires a millionaire.
Instead of wishing for a more left leaning biased media, wouldn’t a desire for a more honest media make more sense? I really don’t care if little Georgy Snuffalupagous loves the socialist liberal agenda or not. It shouldn’t be so obvious though that he lets it effect how he does his job. The media should be neither right or left leaning, but impartial like they claim to be. They should put the facts out there and let the people decide if it’s a good or bad thing. They shouldn’t pick or choose what we hear and put their spin on it. Your article proves you already allow Trump to live in your head rent free. You don’t need to listen to more liberal bias, it will only make you more insane.
Trump supporters were magnanimous until the little crybaby libtards began rioting and destroying things because they didn’t get a trophy for losing. They all listened to the liberal media who told them it was time for another Clinton, even if she’s one of the most corrupt, least transparent politicians in history. She would have been a success in the eyes of the press, because they would have protected her. The rest of us would have been in very very bad shape before the end of her reign of terror. We are in bad enough shape as it is from the last eight years. I don’t know if we could have made it through four more years of the same old thing.
Lee says
Off we go again with the ludicrous assumptions about me just cos I happen to be left wing. Do you never stop to even think that the world isn’t quite so simple? Do you never think to find out about a person’s background, upbringing etc, before you attempt to slate them? Clearly not.
One thing that is clear, however, is that ignorance really is bliss. Or at least willful ignorance, anyway: “Trump may be wealthy but at least he didn’t get that way through bribes and corruption like most people in politics.”
Shafting thousands of small contractors is ok is it? People on the lower rungs of life. People like me. Perhaps even you? People lost money they couldn’t afford, small business they’d built up over years, all at the expense of your man who walked away from yet another bankruptcy. A man who benefited enormously from the pain and suffering of others.
Yes, there is something wrong with a lot of politics. But there’s just as much wrong with someone who can do that, repeatedly, and have no qualms about it too. No doubt he’d class it as smart. Personally I’d class it as something else. Those whose lives he ruined something much stronger still.
The rest of your nonsense I can’t be bothered responding to. You won. Why can’t you just enjoy it? I dread to think how you’d be if you had actually lost. Spontaneously combusted ages ago I presume.
Anyway, enjoy your 4 years in the sun. Hope you don’t get burnt.
Duke says
Dude, go see a doctor for your A.D.D. You’re all over the place. One minute you hate him because he’s a bigot, next you hate him because he’s privileged, then you hate him because he’s a successful business man.
Lots of successful business people have gone bankrupt. They take chances. So do the little guys who get ‘shafted’ when someone goes bankrupt. That’s how business works. Insane government policies over the last eight years have hurt more small business’s than Trump ever has.
I don’t know by what precedence you think I or anyone on the right would spontaneously combust if cankles had won. Guess from all the rioting we did after the 2008 and 2012 elections….. oh wait, not a good example. Since the defeat of the evil witch, some lefties have been protesting, oh wait, I misspelled rioting. They even destroyed a Starbucks in DC today. Now where will they hang out and complain about how unfair their lives have been? Certainly not at work.
I don’t know why you dream about the end of the United States at the hands of one successful, wealthy business man when you photograph a run down western theme park near Tokyo, or why you care. Shouldn’t you be more worried about an attack from Godzilla or Mothra?
Lee says
Like I said, enjoy. Help make America great again.
Duke says
I’m not really as nuts as it seems. While it does fascinate me that people think Trump will be the end of the world and are actually destroying property and rioting in the name of peace, I really don’t care and have basically just been busting your balls.
Cheers.
Bruno Privatti says
Olá.
I just read a pice of journalism in the Daily Mail website about a creepy and sad japanese theme park. And it was full of your wonderful photos!
Parabéns
Lee says
Thank you! Yes, they were keen on the photos, so it worked out well.
Florian says
Holy smokes – what happened to Western Village? The amount of damage is insane! Especially the animatronics have severely suffered from vandalism in the past two years. Poor Clint Eastwood!
I love your photos, but I am… shocked… to see the park in that state.
Lee says
Yes, it’s obvious location and easy access hasn’t done it any favors in that sense. Although that said, the battered and mutilated figures are now a lot more sinister looking than they were. A bonus, of sorts.
I’ve heard Gene Hackman’s and Clint Eastwood’s name mentioned, but it’s surely John Wayne, no?
Craig says
I went there earlier last year. Creepy place! Sad to see there has been even more vandalism.
Lee says
It’s quite an experience walking round, isn’t it? I know what you mean, it has seen a fair amount of vandalism. Sadly inevitable I guess considering how easy it is to access, and how obvious its location is. But like I said to Florian in the comment above, the damage has at least given the whole place a more sinister vibe. A real, end of the world kind of feel.
kikuhouse (Joanna) says
My goodness, a lot to take in here (and that’s just the comments!) 😄 It also reminds me of Westworld, and I wonder if this era is when he thinks America was last ‘great’. It’s the same in the UK, my parents think that the 1960’s were paradise and that is where I and my son should want to live. Only time will tell, but thank you for this post.
Lee says
I know… In some ways it was a lot of hassle, but it was good to get off my chest. Plus that’s exactly how the exploration felt, so it would have felt wrong writing something different.
That’s what gets me about this idea of turning the clock back. All this looking back through rose tinted glasses to halcyon days that simply didn’t exist. Like you said though, time will tell where it leads us. We have little say in altering it now. Just got to hope that somehow, in some way, that things work out. Or at least don’t work out too catastrophically.
Oh, and it goes without saying that you are very welcome!
ket says
You know this is trespassing,don’t you?
Lee says
I do, yes. Well, technically anyway. But as it has been left to rot for 10 years, and the doors are wide open, I really don’t think anyone is going to get upset about it.
seth lim says
only discovered your work today。。。 just amazing
Lee says
Thank you very much!
Sarah says
I absolutely love all your work, Lee. Long time follower, occasional commenter.
You inspired my partner and I to head here, nearing the end of our three week trip in Japan. All the front entrances were locked and barrakaded but we managed to find a gap in the side to slip though. We spent a good 20 minutes here, before two young girls decided to pop in also. Not long after, the police came running in and yelling, batons waving around, and were not impressed to find us there. We were questioned about our intentions, had mug shots taken (similar to the ones in the wanted photos!), had our details taken and bags searched. Nonetheless, we still had fun and still managed to get a few good snaps. Thank you for finding such a gem!
I just wanted to warn those who plan on heading there, be aware, the police are keeping an eye on it!
Lee says
Good to hear from you, and thank you very much for the kind words.
Lovely to read these photos inspired you to head up there and explore. Really sorry to hear what happened though. Sounds like it was pretty unpleasant to say the least. Can’t believe the police were so full on considering how long that place has been left to rot, and the state it is in… It was much easier to get in when I went, so maybe they have decided to try and seal it, but it’s more than a bit late in the day for that.
Very glad it didn’t totally ruin the exploration, and that you got some good photos from it. Plus I suppose you do have a genuinely unique Japan travel story to tell. Definitely beats the usual anecdotes!
Michael John Grist says
Great explore, Lee – like Florian I was surprised to see the amount of damage. That anyone would smash up and toss John Wayne (definitely the Duke, not any other) on the ground like that is disheartening. But, you’re right it adds more zing to the photos, and I bet the explores. Makes it even clearer you are in ‘West World’.
I haven’t seen your haikyo explores for ages – is that just me and you’ve been active all this time, or did you take some time off?
Lee says
Cheers. Yeah, as bad as John Wayne and his pals have been treated, it definitely made for a more interesting visit. Hopefully more interesting photographic results too.
I’ve actually been to a few recently. Some planned, others lucky finds. But definitely don’t get to haikyo as often as I did. Not that my interest has waned, it’s just hard finding new ones to visit…