Urban exploring or urbex remains popular and it is often a great opportunity to combine a trip in nature with exploring 'ruins'. That is no different in Japan, where there are beautiful natural environments and impressive buildings which form these interesting hybrids.
We start with the best known in the row, the Kuroshio Lodge. Even on the oldest blogs about urban exploration in Japan, this one comes at first place, and it is special to mention that the hotel has not yet been demolished.
You can walk through a steep mountain road, and even though most of the hotel is dilapidated, there is one thing that makes everything worthwhile: the lobby including the hotel bar. The design of this hotel is still wearing an enormously strong 60s and 70s theme, with the orange dressing and the brightly colored seats.
This island was until 1959 one of five hundred uninhabited islands of the Nagasaki Prefecture (not to be confused with its capital city) until a local company decided to house miners in order to mine the large reserve for coal.
Eventually there were more than 8,000 people living, but there remained only 300 of them after the closure of the mine in 2001. Although you can book a tour with the island's local experts, it is also free to explore in all its glory.
An abandoned hotel or factory can already be magical, let alone an abandoned theme park. The Nara Dreamland theme park was the most interesting (and desolated) place to explore in Japan until the end of last year. This is when the park was demolished after years of vacancy.
The park opened its doors in 1961 as the Japanese counterpart of Disneyland, which gave it a special look. The park was also loved in Japan. When in the 80's Disney opened its own park in Tokyo, and later Universal Studios, it soon went downhill with the visitor numbers.
Since 2009, there is also an alternative to Nara Dreamland, which is the nearby Expoland near Osaka. Expoland was forced to close her doors after a roller coaster was derailed in 2007 due to lack of maintenance. Still nice to explore, but a lot more modern than Nara Dreamland. And it has a slightly less beautiful history.
Somewhere along the coast of the Wakayama prefecture there is a deserted hotel from the 70's, which is still in a very good condition. It has a lovely lobby including bar, several swimming pools and something that you will not soon encounter in abandoned buildings: an equipped recreation room.
A ping pong table, a few pool tables and even arcade cabinets are still in good condition. Unfortunately, you can not use the latter without power, but it remains a beautiful picture. If you did not know that all the items are outdated now, you would almost think that the owner can return at any moment.
Finally there is another island in the Nagasaki Prefecture, near the city of Nagasaki. It is one of Japan's most famous places for urban exploration and has a rich history. The tiny island was inhabited for the first time in 1887 to win coal and at its height had more than 5000 inhabitants.
Before and during World War II, prisoners of war from Korea and China were also working under inhumane conditions for the construction of, among other things, the houses on the island. These homes have remained relatively well intact and make it a very popular destination for urbex lovers.
