Despite being incredibly small, the office below can’t claim to be the littlest, as this previously featured workspace comfortably matches it. But considering the mess, it might have a decent shot when it comes to the most miserable.
An abandoned and slowly decaying Japanese clinic
Outside the big cities, Japan’s ageing population can make some areas feel like a very different country. They are visibly older in every way. Far less hectic too. And combined with urban migration, the number of residents is noticeably dwindling. With that in mind then, it’s not surprising that abandoned structures already dot the landscape. A trend that is only going to continue, meaning buildings like the clinic below will in many ways become commonplace.
Founded in 1918, and eventually closing in the early 70s, Japanese society saw more than a little upheaval during the years it was open. Inside, however, all that feels like a very long time ago, as it’s arguably more akin to a very badly kept museum than a mere abandoned building.
Unfortunately, those forty-odd years of neglect have really started to take their toll. Certain parts of the building have collapsed, and the flooring in general is more than a little suspect to say the least. That said, despite the damage and the general disarray, there’s still a genuine sense of what went on there — not to mention when.
Implements and the like are scattered all over the doctor’s room.
And the connected pharmacy still has some stock on the shelves.
Plus there’s a real feel of Japan in the 1960s.
But the chairs in the waiting room hint at something much darker than colourful calendars and a wonderfully retro TV.
Namely an operating room that due to all the dirt and damage, is like something out of a horror film.
A room that is now only connected with decay, rather than any kind of recovery.
A beautifully lit outdoor bookshop
Some of the shop’s most illuminating titles?
Life in a Tokyo alley
Old, crumbling and abandoned Tokyo
Due to the increasing problems of a shrinking population and urban migration, it’s not really surprising that abandoned homes, along with countless other kinds of crumbling buildings, are now common sights outside Japan’s major cities. Yet despite the capital’s continued growth, and the often prohibitive cost of land, it’s also not that unusual to see similar structures in Tokyo.
Photographed not far from the busy hubs of Ueno and Asakusa, one of these spaces was an office, the other quite possibly a house. But regardless of their former purpose, both of them were long since locked up and somewhat inexplicably left to rot.
Shinto priest: A colour portrait
Recently, when putting together a set of traditional Japan images, I went back to the photograph of this intense looking Shinto priest from December 2012. A portrait that at the time seemed much better suited to black and white.
Now, however, I’m not nearly so convinced. In fact, if pushed to pick one or the other, I’d probably opt for colour.
