The overgrown beauty of a long abandoned Japanese shopping arcade

Abandoned places invariably possess a melancholic charm and beauty all their own. A mixture of unknown stories and past lives, along with the often hard to articulate appeal of slow, natural decay. Elements that this striking old shopping arcade had in abundance, particularly so with the added details of more personal scenes found in the living quarters above a few of the collapsing stores.

The location was originally a black market in the post-war period, then during better economic times in the 1960s, the arcade itself was built, incorporating shops and connected residences. The growth of supermarkets and large suburban outlets, however, changed consumer habits forever, resulting in the decline and eventual closure of every single shop in the arcade — the last one apparently pulling down the shutters for the final time around 40 years ago. That said, some people did continue to call it home. Calendars we saw dated back to the early and late 90s, but according to one report, an elderly lady lived there as recently as 6 years ago.

Now though the arcade simply stands as a dilapidated, but also quietly beautiful reminder of what was, and what will never be again.