SHIOBARA GRAND HOTEL [JP]

Exploration #288 Shiobara Grand Takinoyu Hotel. Shiobara Grand Takinoyu Hotel is a former hot-spring hotel in Shiobara, Japan. Once part of the town’s long spa tradition, the large complex later closed and remained standing as one of the area’s most visible abandoned hotels.

Shiobara has developed around its hot springs for centuries, and the hotel belonged to the modern phase of that tourism economy. Its scale is deceptive from the street: photographs show a much larger complex extending behind the main façade, with several levels built into the slope. Little reliable information survives about its opening date or final years. A 2017 photographic record already described the building as disused and noted that it appeared to have been abandoned for some time. Period accommodation listings indicate that the hotel once operated as a substantial resort, with rooms overlooking the Shiobara area and rates of around ¥15,000 per night.

I found the hotel completely by chance while walking through the town. Its size and silent windows immediately stood out among the active buildings around it. What began as an ordinary walk became an unexpected exploration of a place that still reflects the rise and decline of Japan’s large hot-spring hotels.

SCHOOL GYM [JP]

Exploration #286. In a small village along the Tenyu River in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, an abandoned elementary and middle school gymnasium stands above the valley. Probably closed after local depopulation, it now survives as a silent landmark of rural education.

The village lies on a steep slope rising from the riverbank, with houses and narrow roads clinging to the mountainside. From below, while cycling toward a hotel beyond the settlement, the gymnasium was already visible. Its position made it one of the highest buildings in the village, a sign of how important the school once was locally. Reaching it meant leaving the easy rhythm of the road. The climb became so demanding that the final stretch had to be completed on foot. At the top, the main school building was closed, but the former gymnasium stood without fences or doors.

There is little documented information about the school, but its abandonment suggests a familiar story in rural Japan: shrinking villages, ageing populations and schools closed when there are no longer enough children to fill their classrooms. What remains is a civic building shaped by everyday life. Inside the gym, grass now pushes across the floor. Plants climb toward the roof beams, softening the structure that once echoed with lessons, ceremonies and sports.

Found by chance, this abandoned school gym became an unexpected exploration, suspended between landscape, memory and the quiet decline of a mountain village.

LOST BUS n6 [JP]

Exploration #284. A forgotten bus resting in a field, found completely by chance while I was driving through the Japanese countryside.

THE GREAT PEACE PAGODA [JP]

Exploration #278 The Great Peace Pagoda. The Heiwa Daihōtō (Great Peace Pagoda) is an unfinished Buddhist relic tower located in Nishi-Zaō, Yamagata City. Planned in the early 1980s as a symbol of world peace, construction was halted for unknown reasons, leaving the structure incomplete.

Situated north of the Nishi-Zaō Park observation area, the tower is notable for its unusual form, resembling a UFO when viewed from above. The structure consists of a cylindrical concrete base from which exposed steel framing still protrudes, marking the point where construction stopped. Despite its unfinished state, the tower remains a visible landmark in the mountainous landscape. The project was initiated by Fujii Nichidatsu, head priest of Nipponzan Myōhōji, as part of a broader effort to construct Peace Pagodas across Japan and worldwide. Contemporary newspaper articles from 1981 and 1983 describe steady progress and expectations of completion, yet the work was later suspended without official explanation. Adjacent to the pagoda are several buildings that appear abandoned at first glance. Inside, however, an altar and a small temple can be found, suggesting that part of the complex is still in occasional use.

Translated text from the on-site sign:

“The Heiwa Daihōtō was initiated by Fujii Nichidatsu, head priest of Nipponzan Myōhōji.”
“It enshrines sacred relics of Shakyamuni Buddha transmitted from India.”
“It was intended to pray for world peace and universal coexistence.”
“It honors ancestors and those who sacrificed their lives during and after the war.”
“It aimed to create a place of spiritual peace and a new landmark for regional development.”
“The tower transcends sectarian boundaries and was meant as a cultural heritage for future generations.”

Today, the Heiwa Daihōtō stands as a rare example of late-20th-century religious architecture interrupted mid-construction, reflecting both spiritual ambition and historical discontinuity.

THE JEEP OF MISHIMA TUNNEL [JP]

Exploration #273 The jeep of Mushima Tunnel. The Mishima Tunnel is an abandoned passage hidden along an old mountain road that once connected Kimitsu City and Kamogawa City in Chiba Prefecture. Completed in 1953, the tunnel was originally built as part of a remote forest road intended to link the inland communities of Kimitsu and Kamogawa.

Construction was difficult: the planned route crossed rugged terrain, and the soft rock surrounding the tunnel required full concrete reinforcement. Funding was so limited that the village reportedly sold off nearly all of its forest land, eventually even advertising the sale of the Kiwadadai plantation in local newspapers, to secure enough money to finish the project. For decades, the Mishima Tunnel served as a vital connection through the mountains, until the opening of the modern Kimikamo Tunnel on February 24, 1993. With the new route in operation, the old road and the Mishima Tunnel were abandoned.

Today, the remains of this forgotten road tell a mixed story. On the south (Kamogawa) side, the old approach is blocked by barriers but still relatively intact, aside from a small landslide area that poses some danger. It remains passable on foot. The north (Kimitsu) side, however, has fallen into deep neglect, overgrown with dense vegetation and barely recognizable as a former roadway. Both entrances of the tunnel are now sealed. At the Kimitsu-side portal lies one of the site’s most striking features: the heavily decayed shell of what appears to be a stolen Toyota Land Cruiser.

The vehicle has been abandoned for years, rusting away in front of the sealed entrance. As of January 2024, the Kimitsu Civil Engineering Office has posted a removal notice on the vehicle, though its extraction seems nearly impossible, the car is non-functional, and the surrounding road is completely inaccessible to vehicles. A memorial stone dedicated to workers who lost their lives during the construction also stands on the Kimitsu side, offering a poignant reminder of the human cost behind the tunnel’s creation. The Mishima Tunnel remains a powerful relic of postwar rural engineering, an isolated, atmospheric ruin that preserves both the ambition and the hardships of the era in which it was built.

MOTEL FUURIN [JP]

Exploration #272 Motel Fūrin (モーテル風林). Motel Fūrin is one of the most intriguing abandoned love hotels in Japan, located deep in Kimitsu City, Chiba Prefecture.

Once it was a vibrant stop for travelers and couples. Inside, there were themed suites, rotating beds, bold 1970s décor, and glass-walled baths. Evidence suggests that Motel Fūrin opened around 1973 and operated until roughly 2000, reflecting the rise and fall of Japan’s love hotel boom. Today, however, most of the structure has collapsed, leaving only scattered remains of its former charm. Even in ruins, the abandoned Motel Fūrin stands as a haunting time capsule of Showa-era culture and one of the most photogenic and historically fascinating love hotel ruins in the country.