It couldn’t last. There was no doubt about that. Demolition really was inevitable. Still, seeing that empty little plot was no less disappointing. It was the last hold out. The final nail left sticking out. A closing shout-out to an architecturally more colourful time in every sense. Hues and textures then that will definitely be missed, but at the same time, very fondly remembered.
Post-apocalyptic scenes from a long-abandoned Japanese hotel
Abandoned homes in particular have a quiet poignance that is genuinely touching. Spaces and long-left belongings that tell of lives lived and likely also lost. Hotels, on the other hand, are often interesting due to their dated decor, along with a sense of faded glamour and increasingly distant holiday memories.
The structure below, however, was very different. Vandalism, and the truly massive damage caused by time and the environment, made for scenes that were way more post-apocalyptic than poignant. That decay, along with the remnants of human life, made it incredibly interesting to explore, plus the grey and cold conditions matched the similarly bleak interiors.
Opening in 1960, the hotel was clearly quite something when looking at the brochure — the comparisons with its current state being striking to say the least — but the presence of small, portable TVs even though it didn’t close until 2002, suggest its decline was a long and gradual one. A lack of modernisation that would have resulted in a similar decline in visitor numbers, making renovation funding even more difficult to find. Add to that changing tourism trends over its lifespan, and closure was probably the only realistic outcome, culminating in the shocking, but also truly fascinating scenes below.
Old and dated scenes from a southern Japan city
When travelling in Japan, my aim, just like in Tokyo, is to try and capture the older parts of each place I visit. Lost in time locations that hark back to a different era, as well as holding the lives and local stories of numerous generations.
With that in mind then, here are some recent photos from the Shikoku city of Takamatsu. A variety of sights and scenery that also included time in a small bar with its nearly 99 year old owner. An evening that was especially memorable, and in many ways, it seemed to encapsulate these kinds of areas. The building is way past its natural lifespan, and the owner is sadly approaching hers, meaning dereliction or demolition is all the future holds.
That said, until such times, these remain parts of Japan to seek out, explore, and perhaps more importantly, simply appreciate.
A wonderfully dated old Tokyo coffee shop
I posted photos from this fabulously dated old Tokyo coffee shop early last year, so this is an update of sorts. Happily not an establishment update, as nothing much has changed in that department during the six decades it’s been in operation, making a mere twelve months almost no time at all. Instead, it’s simply the addition of a few new images from a recent visit, along with a slight re-working of the older ones.
Entering the place is genuinely like stepping back into a different era, and the passage of time is evident everywhere, from the patched up seating and torn light shades, to the almost comically worn carpet. A truly wonderful subterranean space where the cups are heavy, the smell of smoke ever-present, and the sense of escape utterly priceless.
Recent Tokyo photos that are reminiscent of a different time
Despite its modern veneer, a fair amount of Tokyo is still surprisingly old and dated, an aspect that for me at least makes the city infinitely more interesting. Scenes and environments that almost seem to exist in a different era — some still a part of everyday life, whereas others are long unused and left to decay. All of them, however, make for fascinating finds in the capital’s current, and increasingly homogenous, urban sprawl.
Sights from a less affluent side of Tokyo
Sanya, Tokyo’s poorest neighbourhood, is changing fast just like the rest of the city. Demolition is rife, and shiny new apartment blocks are going up everywhere — slowly but surely making many of the streets unrecognisable. Good in many ways, but for a lot of residents, nothing much has changed at all, with life in and around the area’s cheap, cramped and very basic accommodation pretty much the same as it has always been.
It’s a location that used to be a hub for day labourers, but nowadays, many of the pay-by-the-night rooms from that era are filled with those sent long-term by the local ward office. A place to essentially disappear those deemed undesirable. Elements that mean I tend to shoot differently in Sanya, very often asking if it’s fine to take a photo. Like the portrait of the man in the eighth frame. An approach that on the whole I personally don’t feel is necessary in other parts of the city.
So with all that said, below are some scenes taken recently when passing through.