The abandoned city of hotels left frozen in time for 30 years
admin 19 hours agoNew York StateComments Off on The abandoned city of hotels left frozen in time for 30 years1 Views
In 2024, a Manchester man uncovered an eerie, abandoned city of Japanese hotels that had been left untouched for three decades. (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
Luke Bradburn, 28, was documenting the Fukushima exclusion zone, the site of a major nuclear accident that started at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
However, while filming, he stumbled upon the forgotten tourist hotspot of Kinugawa Onsen, once a bustling resort town famed for its natural hot springs. (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
It was here that he discovered the abandoned hotel district — dozens of huge, decaying buildings stood frozen in time on a cliffside, unaware that life had gone on without them. (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
For six hours, Luke navigated the exterior of overgrown paths, broken staircases and dangerous drop-offs — only touching the surface of roughly 20 sprawling buildings. (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
‘It was like walking into a ghost town,’ Luke said. ‘There were abandoned cars on the streets, and while you could drive through the area, every building around you was just left to rot.’ (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
But it was the inside that left a lasting impression on the young explorer, who described the contrast as ‘mad.’ ‘From the outside, it’s all overgrown and decaying, but inside some of the rooms were pristine, like no one had touched them in decades.’ (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
Luke recalled some rooms looking so well-preserved that it felt like the guests had just popped out to the shops and were soon to return. Walking through the site, he saw arcade machines still filled with toys and tables set with drinks. (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
But perhaps the strangest and most jarring? A massive taxidermied deer and falcon standing proudly in the lobby, still intact after 30 years. Luke described the moment as ‘surreal.’ (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
Nature hadn’t been as kind to all the hotel rooms, though, as some exhibited evidence of severe dereliction and neglect. Case in point: Luke said floors were missing, staircases were hanging down, and there were parts where you had to backtrack because everything had collapsed. (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
The traveller issued a warning to other adventure tourists looking for a thrill at the abandoned resort: ‘It was really unsafe in some areas, you had to be so careful.’ (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
Overall, Luke managed to explore five or six of the 20 hotel buildings by passing through interconnected corridors and hallways. ‘Each one felt like stepping into a time capsule,’ he said. ‘You get a sense of what life must’ve been like here at its peak, and then it just stopped. It’s eerie, sad and fascinating all at once.’ (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
Kinugawa Onsen’s height of popularity was in the 1980s during Japan’s economic boom, when millions of holidaymakers would visit annually. Sadly, the economic downturn of the 1990s caused tourism to decline in the area, and many hotels and businesses were forced to close. (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
Japan’s strict property laws are the reason many of these buildings were never demolished. Some owners died without heirs or simply vanished, leaving the properties in legal limbo. (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
‘It’s very different in Japan,’ Luke explained. ‘The crime rate is so low that abandoned buildings don’t get looted or destroyed as quickly. In some cases, they need the owner’s permission to demolish, and if the owner has died, they legally can’t for 30 years.’ (Picture: Luke Bradburn/SWNS)
