Hello everyone!
This is just a friendly reminder that Abandoned Kansai is run with the exclusive intention of showcasing the beauty of abandonment in Kansai and the rest of Japan.
Ever since Japan opened the floodgates again for tourists from overseas, I receive a ton of PMs and e-mails from people… Everything from “Yo dawg, coordinates?” to really friendly messages.
How do I say this as politely as possible? Urban exploration is a dangerous hobby and not something anybody is entitled to. The locations can be dangerous, the weather conditions can be dangerous, the wildlife can be dangerous; and legally it’s a grey area at best! I don’t encourage anybody doing urban exploration nor do I support the efforts – quite the opposite actually! Especially when you have never done it before. After almost 14 years of exploring I have a pretty good idea of what I’m doing, sometimes learning the hard way. Most people writing me though don’t even seem to have a clue about how much and what they don’t know. Flip-flops wearing first timers on vacation who might get themselves killed – because Japan is this quirky whimsical fairy tale place where nothing can go wrong, even the police look like in an anime! Or worse: “I work for a popular Youtube channel and our audience likes to see us exploring…” Yeah, no problem – of course I’ll do the difficult part for any fame hungry idiot too lazy or incompetent to find abandoned places themselves in a country where you hardly can throw a stone without hitting a ruin! Anything else I can do? Drive you there? Hand you snacks and sodas? Pay for everything? (Speaking of payment: Offering me money doesn’t help, I’m not a whore. And Youtubers are actually not the worst people who contact me – Youtubers with 6- or 7-figure subscribers who have their management write me are; some of those people pretend to be independent wanderers, but apparently can’t even properly plan their own trips; instead they try to exploit the people who do the groundwork.) Sooooo… long story short: Urban exploration is a difficult and complex hobby with no room for bullshit or entitlement. The signs in the gallery below have been put up for good reasons. Respect them or be prepared to deal with the consequences… (I’m not trying to be mean here, this really is just a friendly reminder. Enjoy your time in Japan and don’t cause yourself unnecessary trouble! Or even better: Just enjoy Abandoned Kansai!)
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Abandoned Kansai 
Well said Florain, and keep up the good work, love your feeds
Thank you very much for your kind word – much appreciated!
Quite right Florian.
This is your hobby that you willingly share with us.
No one should expect anything more from you.
Thank you for the many great reads you given us.
Thanks a lot, Jeff! It’s long-time supporters like you that motivate me to keep Abandoned Kansai running!
Things have changed quite a bit over the past 14 years and there are so many “behind the scenes” stories to tell – at the same time I feel like they should not be dragged into public. Urban exploration should be about locations and not turn into another reality show.
I’ve been a long-time supporter of your most excellent site and you are absolutely correct urban exploration is an individual pursuit and awareness is needed. But one day I would like to meet you and hear a few ‘Behind the Scenes’ tales Over a Kolsch, Kostritzer or even a Bamberger Rauchbier Keep up the great work Florian.
Thank you for your efforts, we appreciate it!
Thanks a lot for your kind words!
I am consistently amazed at not only the beautiful places you find, but that you share with us so thoroughly. Anyone going beyond the photos to the write-up knows you have been at risk many times over the years, not just from possibly being caught in the location but due to the condition of the buildings or grounds, weather, and everything in between! Thank you and be safe out there!
Thank you very much for your understanding and continuous support!
I don’t want to sound like a grumpy old man yelling at clouds, but urbex in Japan isn’t anymore what it has been 10, 15 years ago. So many locations are getting demolished, so many locations have been vandalized. I was rather naïve at the beginning, but in recent years I barely ever publish the real name or outside shots of locations. It’s not my job to protect them, but I also don’t want to contribute to their demise by being careless with information. I have several dozen AAA locations sitting here unpublished, but if I would properly write about them, I’d probably reveal too much. The problem with that is not the core readership of this little nerd blog – it’s the handful of “influencers” with millions of viewers who scour blogs like this for information, as I’m one of the few English speaking sources for urbex in Japan. What can happen after those people rushed through is devastating – but of course they never follow up on their past doings as they are too busy dragging the next location into the public eye… 😦
Well said, Florian…I have long enjoyed following you, and am all too aware that you have been at risk many times over the years, and it annoys me that people expect to have stuff handed to them on a plate…
Thank you very much, Sue!
It’s not like I’m strictly against sharing locations – but people have to give me better reasons than a 3 year old who’s grabbing a candy bar at the supermarket register. “Because I want to!” just isn’t enough… Especially if I don’t know them, have never even heard of them and they can’t be bothered to address me properly in their direct messages – my first name is above every article! If they love my work so much, the minimum they should know about me is my real first name or my urbex nickname.
Anyway, thanks for your understanding and support, I really appreciate it!
Well, quite!
Thank you for saying this, Florian! Well said and Good job!
As an old reader of yours and an observer of this “instant fame” seekers, I’ve been scared of this happening to you. Giving them coordinates will not only hurting themselves, they can also ruin the place for things they consider “funny” without respecting Japanese culture and people. Worse, there is huge possibility they will be meeting police.
I am so, honestly, afraid of that, after knowing how low people can behave for fame – especially after those gaijin photographs in Fukushima years ago!
I’m happy you are able to speak up about this; may be you can share the dangerous side of urban exploration next time? Much love from your long time reader.
PS: As an Indonesian, I am baffled and loled so hard about that second sign written in Japanese and Indonesian. How and why are they there?
Thanks a lot, much appreciated!
I wanted to write an article about the risks of urban exploration for a long time. Most of it would be common sense, but… I feel like common sense is not nearly as common as it was before corona.
The Tagalog signs were taken at Ikeshima, Gunkanjima’s more accessible little cousin. After commercial mining was shut down in 2001, the coal mine became a training facility for miners from Indonesia in 2002 – hence the multi-language warning signs all over the island. The program ran out in 2007, nowadays only a few dozen people still live on the island, which became a popular destination for hobby fishers.
well said :D.
Thanks! 🙂