Lost Places in Japan
November 12, 2007 5:31 AM Subscribe
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!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:41 AM on November 12, 2007
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!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:41 AM on November 12, 2007
I keep looking for headcrabs in these pictures...
posted by Pecinpah at 5:45 AM on November 12, 2007 [4 favorites]
posted by Pecinpah at 5:45 AM on November 12, 2007 [4 favorites]
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.
posted by Bugbread at 6:20 AM on November 12, 2007
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.
posted by Bugbread at 6:20 AM on November 12, 2007
What kind of event would force someone to leave all of their kitchen knives in an abandoned slaughterhouse?
posted by washburn at 6:40 AM on November 12, 2007
posted by washburn at 6:40 AM on November 12, 2007
Great stuff—thanks, stav!
Note to flapjax: I know preemptive derails seem hilarious, but they're really not a good idea.
posted by languagehat at 6:48 AM on November 12, 2007 [1 favorite]
Note to flapjax: I know preemptive derails seem hilarious, but they're really not a good idea.
posted by languagehat at 6:48 AM on November 12, 2007 [1 favorite]
Superb post! I never get tired of this sort of thing.
posted by The Salaryman at 6:50 AM on November 12, 2007
posted by The Salaryman at 6:50 AM on November 12, 2007
One always wins extra points with an English translation.
posted by rolypolyman at 7:08 AM on November 12, 2007
posted by rolypolyman at 7:08 AM on November 12, 2007
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.
posted by squasha at 7:20 AM on November 12, 2007
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.
posted by squasha at 7:20 AM on November 12, 2007
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."
posted by squasha at 7:23 AM on November 12, 2007
And the awesome google translations.
"The ruins are still chestnut stuffing and mouth open waiting for trespassers."
posted by squasha at 7:23 AM on November 12, 2007
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."
posted by Xurando at 8:13 AM on November 12, 2007
"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."
posted by Xurando at 8:13 AM on November 12, 2007
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.
posted by ardgedee at 9:28 AM on November 12, 2007
posted by ardgedee at 9:28 AM on November 12, 2007
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.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:35 AM on November 12, 2007
"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.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:35 AM on November 12, 2007
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.
posted by drstein at 9:45 AM on November 12, 2007
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.
posted by drstein at 9:45 AM on November 12, 2007
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.
posted by Mach3avelli at 11:25 AM on November 12, 2007
posted by Mach3avelli at 11:25 AM on November 12, 2007
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!
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 12:39 PM on November 12, 2007
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!
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 12:39 PM on November 12, 2007
I'm imagining Mr. Miyazaki would take great pleasure in seeing those images.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 12:51 PM on November 12, 2007
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 12:51 PM on November 12, 2007
I thought it was the abandoned park in the beginning of Spirited Away.
posted by mumblelard at 1:38 PM on November 12, 2007
posted by mumblelard at 1:38 PM on November 12, 2007
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.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 2:23 PM on November 12, 2007
Photos like this remind me that anything post-apocalyptic is most likely to look more familiar than not.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 2:23 PM on November 12, 2007
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.
posted by cadge at 6:32 PM on November 12, 2007
posted by cadge at 6:32 PM on November 12, 2007
Nice, totally into viewing these.. I wonder if some are nearby for a short visit.
posted by lundman at 9:03 PM on November 12, 2007
This is making me feel like watching a Satoshi Kon movie now... great stuff!
posted by spec80 at 9:14 PM on November 12, 2007
posted by spec80 at 9:14 PM on November 12, 2007
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.
posted by vytae at 10:53 AM on November 13, 2007
??? ???????????? ????
which perfectly matches my wonderment in looking at these things. I don't need no google translator.
posted by vytae at 10:53 AM on November 13, 2007
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posted by Brocktoon at 5:39 AM on November 12, 2007