Comments on: Lost Places in Japan

Lost Places in Japan

stavrosthewonderchicken — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 05:31:24 -0800

By: Brocktoon

Brocktoon — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 05:39:55 -0800

What kind of event occurs that would force someone to leave all of their kitchen knifes behind, forever?

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 05:41:22 -0800

Oooh, ooh, love it! Loves me some recent ruins. Overgrown, ramshackle recent ruins. Thanks for the post. And, allow me to just get this out of the way, then no one else will have to bother including it in their comments: IT'S NOT IN ENGLISH! WTF! I CAN'T READ THE CAPTIONS! BITCH! MOAN!

By: Pecinpah

Pecinpah — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 05:45:04 -0800

I keep looking for headcrabs in these pictures...

By: gomichild

gomichild — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 05:59:17 -0800

OOO neat find.

By: Siberian Mist

Siberian Mist — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:02:20 -0800

Earlier. And here.

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:20:50 -0800

Brocktoon writes "What kind of event occurs that would force someone to leave all of their kitchen knifes behind, forever?" Which picture in which photo set are you referring to? The one on the linked page, a ways down on the left side, are knives at an abandoned slaughterhouse.

By: washburn

washburn — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:40:53 -0800

What kind of event would force someone to leave all of their kitchen knives in an abandoned slaughterhouse?

By: languagehat

languagehat — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:48:01 -0800

Great stuff—thanks, stav! Note to flapjax: I know preemptive derails seem hilarious, but they're really not a good idea.

By: kokogiak

kokogiak — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:50:21 -0800

Very nice!

By: The Salaryman

The Salaryman — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:50:25 -0800

Superb post! I never get tired of this sort of thing.

By: rolypolyman

rolypolyman — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 07:08:20 -0800

One always wins extra points with an English translation.

By: squasha

squasha — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 07:20:21 -0800

I'm still kicking myself for not photographing the abandoned ice skating rink, the abandoned bowling alley built on the side of the mountain, and the haunted warehouse full of antiques which was behind our first dwelling in Japan before they were all torn down. Gifu is full of these places; when we were searching for a house to buy we were shown a number of properties from which the families had simply 夜逃げしました (run away in the middle of the night...there are moving companies who perform this service, for slightly higher fees.) More than a few kitchens with rusty knives and crappy old pans left behind, too. In a country where one must pay to properly dispose of such items, abandoning them and starting anew, elsewhere, is pretty typical. Our agent also showed us a long abandoned bakery with an attached house; it had four floors of ovens and equipment that had been totally ruined by disuse and exposure. Such a waste. So very common.

By: squasha

squasha — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 07:23:25 -0800

Failed to mention how much I enjoyed these pics. And the awesome google translations. "The ruins are still chestnut stuffing and mouth open waiting for trespassers."

By: Xurando

Xurando — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 08:13:19 -0800

I, too loved the translations in the slaughter field. "A sharp fangs are slow radiates." "These sight to see people and the different lives of victims alive me and thought-provoking." "So do not want to imagine not know how to use tools." "Mr. pigs, cows thank you will always appreciate."

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:28:53 -0800

This seems at such odds with the received information that Japan is so heavily developed, every square inch is accounted for, etc. Maybe it's paradoxical, maybe not, but it makes Japan seem less strange to me, after having grown up in the U.S. industrial rust belt.

By: Admiral Haddock

Admiral Haddock — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:35:18 -0800

What about " Straw beds leather sofas / Hospital waste clam clinic." "Hospital waste clam clinic?" Absolutely loved the post. I look forward to exploring all the galleries. I found the photos to be more resonant than most of the other exploration sites--more haunting.

By: drstein

drstein — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:45:19 -0800

I'm pretty sure that I've seen this before. Still cool stuff though. This photo set is of the Negishi grandstands, which was right near my old house. It's also next to a US Navy housing facility and a really nice big park.

By: Mach3avelli

Mach3avelli — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:25:52 -0800

Yay, this has been a favorite site of mine for years. Even used a couple of the pictures to make banners for my music blog.

By: Mei's lost sandal

Mei's lost sandal — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:39:29 -0800

I know that place! The one with the straw in the bed. That's where Mei and Satsuki's mom was in the hospital with TB! They left the corn there on the windowsill!

By: Mei's lost sandal

Mei's lost sandal — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:51:24 -0800

I'm imagining Mr. Miyazaki would take great pleasure in seeing those images.

By: mumblelard

mumblelard — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:38:26 -0800

I thought it was the abandoned park in the beginning of Spirited Away.

By: Unicorn on the cob

Unicorn on the cob — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:23:18 -0800

I find this sort of thing fascinating... I know that in Japan, new is better, so it's common to buy a place and raze it to the ground and build fresh there. Apparently used housing is considered to be in poor taste... Can any meFites actually confirm this? It's what I've heard from friends living there for the past four years. Photos like this remind me that anything post-apocalyptic is most likely to look more familiar than not.

By: blendor

blendor — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:00:33 -0800

man, i love this stuff.

By: cadge

cadge — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 18:32:30 -0800

Wow, this reminds me of a book I'm reading. The first part of Lost Japan is about a guy finding and restoring an old abandoned farmhouse. Beautiful book so far.

By: lundman

lundman — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 21:03:10 -0800

Nice, totally into viewing these.. I wonder if some are nearby for a short visit.

By: spec80

spec80 — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 21:14:14 -0800

This is making me feel like watching a Satoshi Kon movie now... great stuff!

By: vytae

vytae — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:53:42 -0800

If you don't have the right fonts installed (and I don't), all the captions say is ??? ???????????? ???? which perfectly matches my wonderment in looking at these things. I don't need no google translator.