I love maps! I always loved *maps*. When I was a little kid, my grandma taught me the names of every capital in Europe, and my desk pad was a world map. To me, GoogleMaps is the best thing since sliced bread. Whether I need a quick two-minute break or have to kill a rainy day on the weekends, GM is one of my favorite websites of all time, especially since I picked up urban exploration as a hobby. Sometimes I just browse through Japan via the satellite view… and actually find abandoned places, like an abandoned ropeway station I yet have to write about, or the *Abandoned Poultry Farm* I mistook for the *Red Factory*. About two years ago I saw a red roofed building in almost Y shape that caught my eyes – and on Street View the entrance looked abandoned, yet in decent condition…
Well, it turned out that my first exploration in Yamanashi prefecture was a total dud and that the entrance was pretty much the only thing about the Sun Park Hotel Naito that was in decent condition. When my buddy Dan opened the door to the hotel’s bar (the front entrance consisted of massive automatic glass doors that wouldn’t move a millimeter…), I instantly knew that we were up for a disappointment – the smell of rotting carpets, wallpapers and all kinds of other materials was heavy in the air. While the abandoned bar still had a certain 1980s TV show retro charme, the rest of the hotel kept me wondering what the heck I was doing there.
We reached the reception area through a small hallway and went on a short walkthrough of the ground floor (or first floor, as it is called in Japan) – restaurant, kitchen, employee rooms / toilets, offices. The smell was bad and the air probably wasn’t healthy, but it got worse after climbing the sketchy main staircase to the second and third floors. The hallways were completely trashed, everything was rotting, except for the ripped-out yellow insulation that smelled like urine. What a disgusting, miserable place; and the rain outside didn’t help to lighten up the atmosphere. Since the third floor was less vandalized at least some of the rooms were accessible, though none of them contained anything out of the ordinary. The really kitschy telephones were kind of interesting, but that’s pretty much it. My favorite item though was a pillow in the hallway, rotting, partly overgrown by moss. It reminded me of the fading stack of tatami mats at the *Bio Center* in Hokkaido, still one of my favorite photos.
Well, not all abandoned places can be surprise super hits – and the Sun Park Hotel Naito definitely wasn’t a hit. It was just another abandoned countryside hotel, and those are a dime a dozen all over Japan. Luckily every once in a while a few of those mystery hotels turn out to be great finds, so you can look forward to some amazingly unique abandoned hotels on Abandoned Kansai in the future; and… well… some crappy ones, too…
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Abandoned Kansai 
Visiting abandoned places can be initially regardn disappointing, but we always seem to find the image that will give it a certain charm 🙂 I love your series, despite what you describe hint at the former beauty 😀
You’re right, even the ugliest places usually offer the opportunity for a couple of interesting shots.
Despite your disappointment in the place, I really like these pictures! Perhaps it’s the super-high chroma colors -and that freaky ceiling light- that appeal to me. Thanks for posting this!
Thanks – I am really happy how my camera settings make all the colors pop, even on rainy days. (Still no post-production…)
The ceiling lamps were kind of interesting as they didn’t have the typical abandoned hotel plastic look.
Nice series. I especially like the cig machine.
Thanks! That cigarette machine was in the lobby – I didn’t dare to get closer as the floor wasn’t exactly solid.
Me too I like the pictures, I don’t really understand why you were so disappointed. And I love your statement “GoogleMaps is the best thing since sliced bread” – very much agree with you!
Hey Cloud,
I think there are several reasons why I was disappointed.
First of all I had high hopes for the place as I expected it to be untouched and in good condition – and there is nothing more disappointing than… well, when you are disappointed. And like I said, there are abandoned hotels in rather bad condition all over Japan. I’ve been to probably dozens of them by now. No urbexer in Japan would drive 400 kilometers and be happy to see that – especially considering the time and money spent (Japan charges highway fees!). If the same place would have been 20 kilometers down the road from where I live, I probably would have been much more indifferent about it. Still not happy, because I really enjoy the atmosphere of abandoned places (and there was nothing to enjoy at the Sun Park Hotel Naito!), but at least not that disappointed. In addition to that, the circumstances were suboptimal. It rained almost all day long and the place before was under demolition, the place after was even worse.
Luckily some of the photos turned out to be interesting, but I really don’t want to know at what cost – 45 minutes of breathing mold the least, probably even worse. The stench on the second floor was really, really bad!
GoogleMaps feels even better in Japan as there is no such thing as sliced bread here. Well, there is some sugary spongy white stuff they sell in supermarkets, but that’s not really bread. Just as the frozen rice with fish on top they sell in some German supermarkets isn’t really sushi…
Hi Florian
Thank you for your detailed answer!! Vielen Dank! Enjoying your blog immensely, particularly as I had not ever imagined before that someone would be into photographing abandoned places. But as one can see from your pictures, worth it. Really loving the idea…Nice Spiegel articles too. Looking forward to spending more time on your blog.
You are welcome! Sometimes I just throw out thoughts without explaining them, which can be confusing or not fully satisfactory, especially for new readers.
I’m happy to hear that you enjoy Abandoned Kansai and there might be another SPON article or two in the future, I just have to put some pieces together, but the blog is keeping me quite busy recently. 🙂
Dear Friend! I’m going to write about an abandonned Greek Orthodx Church in Shiuzoka City which is planned for destruction! If you k\like it, do reblog it! Best regards, Robert0Gilles
I’m looking forward to it!
I am surprised you went all the way up! I went to this place 3 years ago and I noticed the asbestos leaking all over the place when I was walking up the stairs. We all got out immediately, this place is one of the most infected placed I have ever seen. You did not see it?
So you’re a fellow map geek. I know the feelings. I’ve also indulged in map loving since my youth, as well.
Oh yeah, I really love maps. Old ones, new ones – old ones and new ones right next to each other. If you ever come to Osaka, visit the history museum close to Osaka castle. They have some quite simple, but really interesting maps about how Osaka changed over the centuries; spoiler: the current castle area once was near the coast.