Japan’s ageing demographic and urban migration mean that many of the nation’s smaller towns are slowly, and very visibly dying. Places one can find all over the country, from faded tourist spots to once thriving communities. A seemingly irreversible change that has understandably hit much smaller, and more rural settlements especially hard. Like those in the the photos below, which despite the decline, are only a few hours out of Tokyo.
Our original plan had been to visit some abandoned buildings we knew the location of, but a closed road due to tunnel repairs unexpectedly put paid to that, and with no Plan B in place, we decided to drive round some nearby roads and see what we could find.
That, perhaps unsurprisingly, turned out to be lots more abandoned and long since locked up houses, along with glimpses of what had once been. There were no people out and about, and the few we did see inside their homes were all elderly. A day of exploration that was also contributed to by bright sunshine and some truly ferocious storms, which considering what we saw, seemed wholly fitting.
Completely unconnected, but just a quick mention again of my new book project, Tokyo Conversations, that has very recently gone live on Kickstarter. I’ll do a proper post on it, but in the meantime it’s a collaboration with my friend Giovanni, and is a unique, flip cover, 2-in-1 book featuring 20 colour and 20 monochrome photos. A visual, Tokyo focused back and forth we had over the course of quite a few months.
If that sounds interesting, and you’d like to join in, help us out, and get a book in the process, here’s a link to the campaign: Tokyo Conversations.
Günter says
This is interesting and very sad. I find it hard to imagine I could drive into the countryside and find so many abandoned houses.
Lee says
Yes, it is, and hard to reconcile sometimes in a country as wealthy as Japan. Thing is though, such scenes are only going to get more common…
Sean says
Awesome set as always. I can’t get enough of the interior shots and the next to last cassette deck. I’d love to hear what song was played last!
Lee says
Thanks a lot. Yes, it was good to be able to get into one of the houses. Even more so one that had some things still left inside. But yeah, hearing that in such quiet surroundings would have been a bit special.
Ken C says
Looking forward to getting my copy of your book Lee. Xmas present to myself maybe!
Richard says
Some poignant photos, thanks! The first one reminds me of ‘a bridge to nowhere.’
The ones of the dolls and the daruma were particularly meaningful to me because we have a set of those dolls which my mother in law made for our daughter many years ago. It is particularly sad to me that someone abandoned them like that.
Best wishes on your book project!
Lee says
@Ken C
Thanks a lot for the pledge, Ken. Really kind of you, and very much appreciated. We just hit our target, so it’s now a reality. With us getting that amount so quickly, any extras we can use to make the book even better, so hopefully you won’t be disappointed!
Lee says
@Richard
You are welcome. And thank you. The campaign is going incredibly well. Way better than I could have ever hoped it would.
Cheers. Pleased with this set. And yeah, those dolls are very poignant. Makes you wonder why they were left, and indeed who left them…
cdilla says
Once again you spoil us with such a large selection.
The Daruma dolls (why both eyes filled in and not taken to a temple?)
The Mistubishi Jeep (from early seventies and Kumagaya if my plate reading research holds up)
And the layers of stories the last photographs contains – the building is a timber yard, but used to be a school (elementary if the play area kit is anything to go by) – can’t be many conversions like that around. I wonder if any former pupils now work there.
https://bit.ly/3D4Odur
Lee says
To be honest I came away with way more than I expected to. Especially so after that initial disappointment.
Some people do keep ‘completed’ Daruma I think. But yeah, it does give them being left there extra significance.
Well done finding that. Very impressive to say the least. Ah, hadn’t thought about that. Be both interesting and perhaps a little bit odd if they do.
YTSL says
Some pics are beautiful; others haunting. With almost all of them, I can feel a stillness in the air coming through from them.
Lee says
Thank you very much. Definitely that feel about these kinds of places, so really pleased to hear that comes through in the photos. All and everything I could hope to achieve really.
Paul says
Thank you very much for sharing.
I could almost feel the dark and humid atmosphere, like a village lost in time, separated from other cities.
For sure it’s a little bit sad to contemplate but also very interesting.
I’d be curious to hear what is recorded on the tapes…
Lee says
You are very welcome. It’s always fascinating to find and explore these little settlements. And yes, an intriguing mix of the sad and interesting.
Likewise. To hear them in those surroundings would have been incredibly poignant.
Marc says
I really want that Mitsubishi!
Lee says
I know eh? Such a waste it’s just been left to slowly rot away there…