Abandoned Kansai

The abandoned Coastal Wedding Venue is one of my favorite explorations of 2019 – and one of my favorite solo explorations of the past few years.

When I started Abandoned Kansai more than 11 years ago I named it that on purpose. Abandoned Kansai. Not Abandoned Honshu or Abandoned Japan. Abandoned Kansai. Because back then I had no intention to explore outside of Mie, Shiga, Kyoto, Nara, Wakayama, Osaka, and Hyogo. Heck, even Mie and most of Wakayama seemed so far away and inaccessible. Hundreds of explorations in all 47 Japanese prefectures later I just hope that it is not too far away when a new and extraordinary looking location pops up on the internet, because… usually it is. And of course the Coastal Wedding Venue was no exception. First it took me a while to find it, then it took me a while to get there, because not only was the wedding venue far away from Kansai, it also was on top of a mountain in a rather remote tiny little town – easy to access is different, especially when flying solo and therefore relying on public transportation. But thanks to a serious amount of patience and tons of dedication I finally made it there one a sunny autumn day as beautiful as the view from the main balcony of the venue.

Unfortunately there is little know about the Coastal Wedding Venue, which consists of about half a dozen buildings, including a chapel, a hotel and a restaurant for the main reception, as well as a swimming pool and several outdoor areas of various sizes, now mostly overgrown. It seems like the place opened in the late 1980s and closed about 25 years later – despite or because it’s kitschy design with countless white European style statues outdoors and gigantic Asian style vases and sculptures indoors.
After more than half a decade of neglect and vandalism the venue already was in rather pitiful condition when I explored it 1.5 years ago. The buildings were ransacked and in parts severely damaged, the outdoor areas were hard to navigate due to uncontrolled growth – it wasn’t a fun exploration, but it was a gorgeous one, high above the sea at one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline I’ve ever seen in Japan. The predominantly white venue was very easy on the eyes, despite the dilapidated condition it was in. A lot of shots were hard to take, especially the one of the chapel and the pool from the balcony along the main street – but like my frontal shot of the *Hachijo Royal Hotel* it turned out to be one of my favorite photos ever. I had high expectations for the abandoned Coastal Wedding Venue… and they were fulfilled overall. Unfortunately both vandalism and decay seem to progress at record speed, so it’s only a matter of time until this place will only continue to live in the memories of the few who had the opportunity to document it at the right time.

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