Tokyo Times

Like many industrial towns and cities in Japan, Muroran has suffered enormously over the years, and it was hit particularly hard in the latter decades of the 20th century. The massive drop in population from 162,000 people at its peak in 1970, to just under 80,000 last year, perfectly highlights its long, irreversible decline. A pace that hasn’t really slowed either, as the figure was still around 90,000 when the photos below were taken in 2014.

However, while such numbers spell out the cold hard facts, it was walking Muroran’s streets that really exposed its plight. In the shopping and entertainment area in particular, where people would have once bought the latest goods and enjoyed an evening out, there were only glowing shop signs. Reminders of the past that are now largely just street lights, as most of the businesses they once advertised are long shuttered up.

In these respects, Muroran really isn’t any different to Japan’s many other faded towns and cities, and yet more than any other, I felt a real affinity with the place. So much so in fact that I’ve often toyed, unrealistically in many ways, of moving up there. Thoughts that returned recently as I start to think about what I want, and what I’m going to do in the future. Hence these re-edited photos from 8 years ago.

These three buildings have fascinated me for a long time. Partly because of their individual looks, but much more so because of how they work together. A sort of perfectly imperfect match in many ways.

That said, I always wanted a photograph with a person in the frame. A bit of interaction perhaps, or maybe some matching colours. In the end though, I arguably got a result that feels far more worthwhile — a resident.

Almost twelve months ago, I posted a series of empty plots where old homes and business had once been. Spaces that despite offering little in the way of hints, still manage to feel strangely evocative of the past. Much more obviously, they also expose walls and sometimes even whole structures that haven’t seen the light of day for decades.

Such changes are a common theme on these pages, along with my photography in general, so a year on from that first set, here’s a follow-up. The photos date from a week or so after that initial post, to some that were taken very recently. None of them offer any real clues of what was, but several do provide far clearer images of what’s to come.

During Japan’s bubble years, golf was the game in regards business and prestige. Deals were done on the course, and club membership was a status symbol — the cost of which could be truly astronomical. Of course at the time it was simply an economic miracle and not a bubble. Then all of a sudden it was a bubble, and the value of club membership collapsed, resulting in many golf clubs going out of business.

Since then the sport has struggled on, but coronavirus has unexpectedly resulted in fresh interest, both on the course and at driving ranges. A shift in attitudes towards leisure time, and golf’s relative safety during a pandemic seemingly the key factors.

That said, it’s still far from cheap, and players need to both book and travel to get a game. Alternatively, an hour or so at the driving range may suit some, but for those looking for a bit of competition and a chance to improve their putting, a day under the motorway might well be the best bet.