The tourists still arrive, but the numbers aren’t, and never will, be anywhere near what they once were. Plus those that do turn up generally relax and enjoy a soak in the comfort of their all-inclusive hotels — all too often only venturing out to buy some obligatory souvenirs by the station before they are whisked back from whence they came. And so, in their absence, the rest of the town tries to somehow struggle on.
For more photos of decaying and faded Japan, there’s a large set of images on my portfolio site, here.
Coli says
What town is this by the way? Did you enter many abandoned buildings/homes?
Lee says
These were taken in Atami.
Nah, just one hotel. The rest were sealed up unfortunately…
Denton says
Cool shots. I’m a big fan of the abandoned room. 🙂 But kinda sad…….
Lee says
Cheers. I like the atmosphere of that room/photo too. The light was lovely.
But yeah, it is sad. Very similar to many other hot spring resorts as well. The good times have definitely been and gone…
Karl says
Great photos. When I see these closed storefronts I wonder how much money it would take to acquire one.
One of my favorite things to do on the few times I get to Japan is to just stay in one locality for several days and do local things and not touristy things, to the extent possible. I stayed in downtown Kure for a week once, just exploring all the nooks and crannies, and had a great time. (Though there are nice museums and other things for tourists as well as locals.)
Lee says
Thanks. Good question. All depends on the place I suppose. It’d take a brave man to open one there though. It’d be very tough indeed to make a go of it.
That’s a really good idea. The perfect way to get to know an area, and see the everyday life of locals.