• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Tokyo Times

Photographs from a small group of islands

  • Photowalks
  • Book and Prints
  • Newsletter
  • Portfolio
  • About/Contact
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • RSS

Jun 26 2012 17 Comments

An abandoned Japanese nursery school pt 2: The classrooms

Even though it’s only one building, Midori no Sono nursery school felt like two very separate haikyo: the possession filled rooms of the sadly deceased owner that were featured last time (photographs of which can be found here), and then the actual school itself.

Just like other abandoned schools, and in particular this incredibly preserved one up in the mountains, it’s the complete silence that was once again the most notable feature.

abandoned Japanese school

Clearly music practice was a regular occurrence, but it’s not anymore. And hasn’t been for many years.

abandoned Japanese school

So instruments that were once functional, as well as part of the furniture,

abandoned Japanese school

now look rather forlorn.

abandoned Japanese school

As do the chairs once used for that regular feature of school life, student photographs.

abandoned Japanese school

Although it’s probably fair to say that the students looked more uncomfortable then, than the seats do now.

abandoned Japanese school

Elsewhere, it was more of the same: Everyday items.

abandoned Japanese school

Traditional ornaments.

abandoned Japanese school

Memories.

abandoned Japanese school

And toys. All of them left behind.

abandoned Japanese school

Along with rooms that while full, seemed incredibly empty.

abandoned Japanese school

The only sign of (relatively?) recent life being these tracks in the kitchen; a flood having covered part of the ground floor with a now dry and cracked layer of mud.

abandoned Japanese school

But other than the unidentified beast, the place was pretty much completely untouched — presumably just as it was when the last of the teachers left.

abandoned Japanese school

A little over 20 years ago.

Categorized: Haikyo

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hans ter Horst says

    6/26/2012 at 9:59 am

    Excellent work! You must have enough material about abandoned buildings for a great book!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/26/2012 at 1:02 pm

      Thanks!

      I’ve certainly got a lot of material. Fingers crossed I can continue to find more.

      Reply
  2. zoomingjapan says

    6/26/2012 at 10:32 am

    I love Japanese haikyo. My favorite is still Gunkanjima! 🙂
    Great photos!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/26/2012 at 1:05 pm

      Cheers. I went there once but the water was too choppy and we couldn’t land…

      Reply
  3. Ken C says

    6/26/2012 at 5:32 pm

    Mario’s head in a box is a bit spooky!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/26/2012 at 6:47 pm

      Saying ‘Mario’s head’ certainly gives it a different dimension!

      Reply
  4. El-Branden says

    6/26/2012 at 7:03 pm

    Great photo essay! I wonder what happened to the children, or indeed, whether the principal had family.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/26/2012 at 10:36 pm

      Cheers.

      No idea if she had family or not, although there doesn’t seem to have been any husband or kids.

      As for the students, the school is in a small, quite sleepy fishing town, so there may not have been that many of them left by the time it closed…

      Reply
  5. Lizzy says

    6/27/2012 at 6:38 am

    Kind of spooky, this one. It seems like a very personalized school. Unfortunate there aren’t more like that.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/27/2012 at 4:45 pm

      It is a shame, but then again, it does make finding one so intact all the more special.

      Reply
  6. Has says

    6/27/2012 at 7:04 pm

    Really atmospheric. I’ve enjoyed both these stories. Keep ’em coming!!!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/28/2012 at 9:21 am

      Thanks, I certainly hope to do.

      Reply
  7. winnie says

    6/28/2012 at 3:40 pm

    Nice Shots!
    The picture of a lady together with a child give a very sad feeling.
    And, the dry and cracked layer of mud looked nice!!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/28/2012 at 5:53 pm

      Thanks Winnie. Yeah, I know what you mean about the photo. I found it strangely unsettling…

      Reply
  8. Phil J says

    8/17/2012 at 3:37 am

    Thank you so much for the sharing your experience with us I love seeing some of these little pieces of history that are nestled in quiet areas around the world. I am also a little sad to see a place that, presumably, was once home to happy children with happy memories just tossed aside and forgotten. These places should be made into museums for travelers, at least some zip-lock bags for the photos so they don’t degrade so badly over time….

    Reply
    • Lee says

      8/17/2012 at 9:40 pm

      My pleasure. Glad you like it. They really are special places. Preserving them would be good, but at the same time, their deterioration over the years only adds to their atmosphere.

      Reply
  9. Leina says

    3/7/2016 at 2:10 pm

    This cat keychain was absolutely lovely. I also liked the sound of the music box in the part 1. Very nostalgic and sweet feeling.

    Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Copyright © 2025 · Tokyo Times