{"id":70869,"date":"2021-06-22T10:53:17","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T01:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shogunmaster.com\/?p=70869"},"modified":"2021-06-22T10:53:17","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T01:53:17","slug":"abandoned-beautiful-ruins-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.shogunmaster.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/22\/abandoned-beautiful-ruins-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Abandoned Beautiful Ruins In Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever wanted to explore a ghost town? Perhaps crawl through forgotten wartime tunnels? Piece together puzzling secrets of the past? Unknowingly you\u2019ve been longing to do some\u00a0haikyo.<\/em><\/h3>\n

In our world full of man-made structures there\u2019s no shortage of decaying, decrepit urban spaces. And the inherent dangers and legalities of infiltrating these spaces have increasingly enticed explores. Terms used to describe the hobby are as plentiful as the sites themselves: there\u2019s the abbreviated urbex the less-tasteful but humorous ruin porn and the Japanese equivalent is haikyo. Written as \u5ec3\u589f the term literally means \u201cruins\u201d and is used to describe abandoned infrastructure but is also synonymous with the practice of urban exploration.<\/p>\n

Haikyo-mania (\u5ec3\u589f\u30de\u30cb\u30a2) is a subculture manifested in Japan\u2019s breed of urban explorers. Urban exploration is the act of exploring man-made structures with a primary focus on abandonments, ruins and the parts of facilities unseen by the general public. Probably the most internationally famous\u00a0Japanese ruin would be “Battleship Island”, or Gunkanjima<\/span>, most recently it was used as inspiration for the villain\u2019s lair in the Bond film\u00a0Skyfall (2012)<\/em>. In fact,\u00a0Gunkanjima\u00a0is now open to tourists visiting Nagasaki, who can join an official tour of the deserted mining island.<\/p>\n

\"Gunkanjima\"
Location:<\/span> Gunkanjima<\/a> \u00a9Jeffrey Johnston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although urban exploration has the common focus of exploration, reasons for pursuing it vary between individuals.<\/p>\n

For some, the attraction lies in photography, capturing surreal scenes such as mother nature\u2019s green fingers reclaiming corroding concrete, or the skeleton red rust left behind as iron structures are oxidized. Others enjoy researching the history and culture tied to locations and people that existed there before, much of which would be otherwise lost to time.<\/p>\n

Some explorers just love basking in the illicit nature of their hobby, seeking adventure where one ought not to go. Haikyo offers experiences that just can\u2019t be found living on the right side of social norms, going places that few regular people would dare even entertain the idea of visiting, such as sewers and drains. This is sometimes even taken to the extreme, trespassing and infiltrating live facilities in search of a genuine thrill, although infiltration is not quite as prolific in Japan has can be seen in other western countries.<\/p>\n

\"Hachijojima\"
Location:<\/span> Hachijojima<\/a> \u00a9Jeffrey Johnston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Japan\u2019s Haikyo Maniacs prefer facilities closer to the true sense of the word and generally stick to ruins and abandonments. Such ruins are commonplace in Japan, especially following the collapse of the bubble economy in the late 1980s. Following Japan\u2019s post-war economic boom, many individuals and corporations were left with a surplus of cash and, with rapidly rising real estate prices and a favorable mood, made misplaced experiments and investments which were not sustainable after the catastrophic crash.<\/p>\n

Such ruins are commonplace in Japan, especially following the collapse of the bubble economy in the late 1980s.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Today, those investments lie slowly rotting away, the owners without necessary funds to have them properly demolished. There\u2019s also little incentive to do so, owing to the fact that a building entitles the landowner to reduction or exemption from fixed asset tax.<\/p>\n

\"Nara
Location:<\/span> Nara Dreamland<\/a> \u00a9Jeffrey Johnston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Japan urbex has its origins in railroad fanaticism, with works such as Junichi Hori\u2019s\u00a0Disappearing Railroads \u2013 An Ode to Ruined Rails<\/em>\u00a0(1983) being a precursor to the rising popularity of the pursuit. The haikyo boom really took hold in the 80s-90s, seeing publication after publication devoted to the topic, culminating in the recent haikyo bible of sorts,\u00a0Nippon no Haikyo<\/em>\u00a0(2007, OOP).\u00a0Nippon no Haikyo<\/em>\u00a0was particularly controversial among the exclusive haikyo community for its bold move to include detailed maps and location information for hundreds of abandonments across Japan.<\/p>\n

Nippon no Haikyo<\/em>\u00a0was particularly controversial among the exclusive haikyo community for its bold move to include detailed maps and location information for hundreds of abandonments across Japan.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As with most urbex circles overseas, there is an unwritten code among haikyo explorers. One of the most prevalent rules is the understanding that locations or information easily leading to them is never given out or made freely available to non-members. There tend to be three main reasons for this: 1) to avoid causing local residents trouble, 2) keeping locations free of vandalism and 3) the sense of exclusivity borne from being one of a select few who know of a secret place.<\/p>\n

\"Ikeshima\"
Location:<\/span> Ikeshima<\/a> \u00a9Jeffrey Johnston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New discoveries and special buildings are kept as closely-guarded secrets among the tight-knit communities of explorers and it can often be frustratingly difficult to become a trusted member of the club. But since the age of the internet and the rise of consumer GPS, detailed maps of the world are available through handheld smartphones and it has become remarkably easy to pinpoint locations and share them with others.<\/p>\n

As such, the publication of\u00a0Nippon no Haikyo<\/em>\u00a0and the combination of websites and message boards detailing locations caused ripples in the community, ultimately leading to haikyo spots\u00a0becoming more well-known and inevitably demolished by anxious owners.<\/p>\n

This is one of the perpetual paradoxes found in urban exploration: there is a strong desire to seek out and share unique locations for recognition within the community, but a constant fear and reluctance to let the locations become common knowledge, which is almost always the result of sharing even among cliques.<\/p>\n

\"Shikoku\"
Location:<\/span> Shikoku<\/a> \u00a9Jeffrey Johnston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But while there are factions and fighting within the communities themselves, the very pursuit of urban exploration is often misunderstood and frowned-upon in itself. In order to visit abandonments, sometimes the explorer must trespass on private property and venture into dangerous areas, leading to potential liability for the landowner should an injury occur.<\/p>\n

And while almost all urban explorers follow the motto; \u201cTake only pictures. Leave only footprints\u201d, other destructive individuals vandalize sites and tag them with graffiti, simultaneously destroying the much-sought-after natural beauty in decay (often encompassing the Japanese aesthetic of \u201cwabi-sabi\u201d) and sullying the image of well-meaning explorers and photographers.<\/p>\n

In order to visit abandonments, sometimes the explorer must trespass on private property and venture into dangerous areas, leading to potential liability for the landowner should an injury occur.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It cannot be denied however that urbex frequently edges into legal grey areas. Haikyo\u00a0is at once enticing to those seeking the unusual, and threatening to others. It wouldn\u2019t quite be urban exploration if all elements of risk, both legal and physical, were removed, and for those same reasons, it\u2019s unlikely to ever be a widely accepted pastime because of that, at least in its current form.<\/p>\n

\"Fuurin
Location:<\/span> Chiba<\/a> \u00a9Jeffrey Johnston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But for those who do find a curious satisfaction when standing alone, camera-in-hand, before a living, breathing abandonment, there is unlikely to be a shortage of adventure any time soon. More and more properties are becoming vacant and left for time to erode, and there will always be people such as myself who find a fascination with urban decay. For those who prefer to sit back and enjoy the tales of others, free from risk, there are undoubtedly plenty of amazing stories and photographs from urban explorers around the world yet to be seen.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer:<\/strong>\u00a0It should go without saying, but for safety and security reasons I always try to make a point of doing so, that I do not encourage people to visit haikyo. Locations can be very dangerous \u2013 explorers have died in the past falling from great heights after underestimating the damaged structures they enter. It\u2019s also legally quite a risky pursuit which is especially true for foreigners without the protection that full citizenship administers. Adventure at your own real risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever wanted to explore a ghost town? Perhaps crawl through forgotten wartime tunnels? Piece together puzzling secrets of the past? Unknowingly you\u2019ve been longing to do some\u00a0haikyo. In our world full of man-made structures there\u2019s no shortage of decaying, decrepit urban spaces. And the inherent dangers and legalities of infiltrating these spaces have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":70914,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[21,34,43,54,56,59,69,81,90],"class_list":["post-70869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-misc","tag-abandoned","tag-chubu","tag-derelict","tag-haikyo","tag-japan","tag-kanto","tag-nature","tag-photography-2","tag-ruins"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.shogunmaster.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.shogunmaster.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.shogunmaster.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.shogunmaster.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.shogunmaster.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.shogunmaster.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70869\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.shogunmaster.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.shogunmaster.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.shogunmaster.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}