One of my favorite things about urban exploration is travelling. Most of the time I do day trips within Kansai, but every couple of months I go on mini vacations to other regions. *Okinawa*, *Kyushu*, *Hokkaido*, *Shikoku* … and a couple of more that will be revealed in the future.
I lived in Japan for several years before I started to visit abandoned places – and in those first years I barely travelled within Japan. Kansai has plenty of castles, temples and shrines, some of the most famous in all of Japan. More than enough to get templed out, shrined out and castled out, so I didn’t feel the urge to spend hundreds of bucks on train tickets – and then a similar amount on hotels. Only to see more castles, temples and shrines that look similar to what I can see down the street. Abandoned places on the other hand are unique – and some of them are actually worth spending a couple of hundred bucks, at least to me.
The spring of 2011 saw my second overnight trip to Shikoku. *During the first one* my favorite location on Japan’s least populated main island was the spectacular *Tokushima Countryside Clinic*, a small town doctor’s house, barely harmed by vandals and the ravages of time. My friend Gianluigi, an avid photographer for almost two decades, loved the photos I took at the clinic, so I convinced him to go on a road trip – I would show him that wonderfully spooky gem if we would stop on other abandoned places along the way…
If you are a regular reader of Abandoned Kansai you might remember two articles I wrote about really unique haikyo about half a year ago – the abandoned Japanese spa *Shimizu Onsen Center* and the giant Buddha statue / viewing platform *World Peace Giant Kannon*; both of them were actually part of this second trip to Shikoku.
So here is a complete list of all the locations:
Amano Hospital
Daiwa Pottery
Kuroshio Lodge
Shimizu Onsen Center
Tokushima Countryside Clinic Revisited
World Peace Giant Kannon
One of these places has been demolished since I visited it two years ago – you’ll find out soon which one… and then I’ll add it to my *GoogleMap of Demolished Haikyo*.
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Abandoned Kansai 
I find all these abandoned places utterly fascinated. Some vandalised to the nth degree and others curiously intact. Those to me are the most fascinating – like a ghost ship found with food still on the table or a village where everything suddenly stopped in mid-breath. I enjoy these unique tours very much.
There are actually a couple of ghost ships, but I guess they are not exactly easy to access. I would love to go and explore a ghost ship though… but for now I have to stick with the places nearby.
I just started following your blog (thank you for liking my photo on tenpairoduckies.com!). Such beautiful work; thank you for posting.
Are you familiar with Prora in northern Germany? Here is a video on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/16824096.
-Joseph
Thanks a lot Joseph!
I’ve heard about Prora and I’d love to go there, but even when in Germany it would take me a day to get to the area. Maybe one day I’ll have the chance to explore all of eastern Germany – there is so much to see!
How lovely!
Thanks! 🙂
Never having been to Japan, it’s interesting visiting the abandoned views first. Great stories. 🙂
Thanks a lot!
I guess even if you visit Japan you most likely won’t see the locations I present on Abandoned Kansai. I lived here for more than three years before I started to look out for abandoned places. Some of them, like the *Maya Hotel*, I saw and didn’t pay attention to… Paying attention is a huge factor. There is so much we miss because we don’t know what to look for. And when we do we wonder how we could have missed that for years.
Isn’t that the truth. I have lived in Central California for 28 years, and I am still finding places that I haven’t touched.! Someone will mention a place, and I haven’t been there! It’s embarrassing after this long!
Same here, when I lived in Germany I did barely any local sightseeing. Here in Japan I’ve been all over the place and locals repeatedly told me that I know the area better than them. Which is actually true most of the time… 🙂
Well, it gives us lots to write! 🙂
I very much enjoy all your photos. I find abandoned buildings fascinating. Love the chandelier in that one shot. 🙂
Thanks a lot! Those chandeliers look actually pretty hideous in real life, probably even more so than on photos. 🙂