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Apr 20 2010 27 Comments

Huge haikyo hotel #1: The first floor

Situated in the popular tourist area of Izu, and surrounded by expensive holiday homes, this bleak and now abandoned building is an eyesore that must regularly irritate those on a rest break, let alone local residents.

hotel haikyo

A hotel that must once have hummed with the sound of holidaymakers on short trips away from Tokyo, but now it’s pretty much silent apart from the steady drips from damaged drain pipes and the wind from broken windows.

Listen!

Meaning that there’s definitely no point in calling reception.

hotel haikyo

Regardless of whether it be for a kiddie chair.

hotel haikyo

Some condiments.

hotel haikyo

A cartridge for a bit of karaoke.

hotel haikyo

Or even a complaint about the cleanliness.

hotel haikyo

Although in the office, where the staff experienced both the highs of the hotel’s opening day, and the lows of its last one, there are still plenty of signs of past activity — some of which, despite the hotel closing in the early 1990s, still feels as though it was fairly recent.

Such as still full filing cabinets.

hotel haikyo

Unused business cards.

hotel haikyo

And bills to prove that, back in the day at least, they did manage to do some business.

hotel haikyo

But that was then and this is now, and regardless of whether it was hurt by changing times, or hampered by bad management, the enterprise was a gamble that well and truly didn’t pay off.

hotel haikyo

In part 2, which can be seen here, I’ll take a look at the distinctly 70s style rooms, and their decidedly dismal deterioration.

Categorized: Haikyo, Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. supreme nothing says

    4/20/2010 at 10:45 am

    Great photos as always. You can’t help but imagine stories behind the abandoned objects.

    I also especially enjoy the audio, it makes the whole scene that much more vivid….

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/20/2010 at 4:55 pm

      Thanks! That’s why I like these places so much. So much history, and so many stories. None of which can be fully known, or fully understood.

      Glad you liked the audio too. I should try and use it more often.

      Reply
  2. Tornadoes28 says

    4/20/2010 at 10:52 am

    I wonder what the condiment on the right is (was)?

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/20/2010 at 5:03 pm

      It’s Parmesan.

      Probably a bit tangy by now!

      Reply
      • Candy says

        4/20/2010 at 6:27 pm

        Yikes! Wouldn’t want that on my pasta!

        Reply
  3. Dev. says

    4/20/2010 at 1:09 pm

    Interesting pictures. Always amazes me what is left behind…………

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/20/2010 at 5:14 pm

      Thanks. It always amazes me too, especially the personal stuff. I’m glad people do leave stuff though, as, for me at least, it’s what makes a haikyo interesting.

      Reply
  4. Jocy says

    4/20/2010 at 4:53 pm

    Great pictures!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/20/2010 at 5:46 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  5. asep says

    4/20/2010 at 6:57 pm

    This is horror.

    Reply
  6. Gordyoh says

    4/20/2010 at 7:00 pm

    Very cool. Nice use of audio too.

    Reply
  7. Lizzy says

    4/20/2010 at 11:32 pm

    Simply amazing. Loved having the audio clip play while going through the pictures. It’s a whole other dimension! I thought I almost heard music at about 1:15 but I guess it was just the wind . . . . ^_^ Can’t wait for Part 2.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/21/2010 at 10:19 am

      Thanks Lizzy! Happy to hear the audio worked for you too, but there’s none for part 2 I’m afraid…

      Reply
  8. My Kafkaesque Life says

    4/21/2010 at 1:17 am

    What can I say? Amazing photos. really. But you must be used to hear that a lot. Well, you’re a great photographer. 🙂

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/21/2010 at 3:41 pm

      Thanks, you are too kind. And anyway, even if I did here it a lot, it’d never get boring!

      Reply
  9. Mylow says

    4/21/2010 at 8:03 am

    Incredibly interesting post. Thank you. The kid’s chair is so sad

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/21/2010 at 10:21 am

      Thanks, and you are more than welcome. The chair struck me as very melancholy too. Not quite sure why though.

      Reply
  10. Boo! says

    4/22/2010 at 3:02 am

    The audio makes me feel like I’m there…love it 🙂
    Looking forward to part 2

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/22/2010 at 11:51 am

      Thanks, but with no audio for part 2, I hope you won’t be too disappointed!

      Reply
  11. dreamer says

    4/22/2010 at 11:00 am

    Great photographs i love all your abandoned building series. They also creep me out a little its strange to see all the items left behind, its like a scene in a horror movie and they are trying to figure out why people left in such a hurry.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/22/2010 at 11:56 am

      Cheers, happy to hear you enjoy them. It is strange, there’s no doubt about it, and the mystery along with a sense of history is really fascinating. And believe me, I have often have a sense of dread along with excitement when opening some doors…

      Reply
  12. grant says

    4/22/2010 at 2:00 pm

    Horror hotel!

    Reply
  13. Florian says

    4/23/2010 at 11:19 pm

    Awesome pictures, interesting text – I’m looking forward to part 2! (And hopefully part 3, 4, 5, …)

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/24/2010 at 12:05 pm

      Thanks Florian! There’ll only be a part 2 I’m afraid. Like most haikyo hotel, after a while the rooms become much of a muchness, and this one wasn’t any different.

      Reply
  14. tama says

    4/24/2010 at 6:29 am

    was looking into the news of working poor in japan and found your website.
    awesome pictures and audio. one day we will all have a device to digitise smell.
    i wonder how long its been shut down.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/24/2010 at 12:07 pm

      Thanks tama.

      Luckily this one didn’t smell bad at all. Lots of broken windows obviously helped. And as for how long it has been abandoned, it closed for business in 92/93.

      Reply

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