Worth the watch.

More accurate location information- I totally hear you on this, but it’s something I struggle with really. In the first iteration of the site I included maps with every post, then I got worried about people using my maps to find a place to trash or steal from, after I returned to one location and found it far more vandalized than when I’d been there. I took my maps down. Then I started responding to requests for locations with trades- as in, you give me a location you know, and I’ll give you one of mine. I feel like a bit of a stooge doing that though.

What I’ll probably do is put a few starter maps up to some of the easier locations, so people can cut their teeth on them, get some photos, put up a post, etc. Then they’ll both have something to trade, as well as a record of their lack of vandalism at the location.

I always think it does seem a bit bizarre to worry so much about ‘vandalism’ in ruins, but if I told someone how to get there and then they do trash the place, it’s really me that’s responsible.

Anyway- I’ll probably add a few maps in the coming weeks.

About the comments on journalism, I definitely appreciate your opinion. The write-up side of things could perhaps be expanded- but normally I exhaust all the generally known facts about a place when I write about it. I suppose if I could dig up some people who lived or worked in the location- that’d be best. Thanks for the ideas and encouragement.

I am considering coming to Japan for a holiday in Oct-Nov 09 and you have given me a whole new spectrum of site-seeing to look for

One thing I would ask however, is it possible to give more accurate location information so people such as myself who don’t know where these places are can find them in Google Earth and therefore follow your exploits from home?

As to whether what you do is Journalism or not? There is no doubt it is, it has lots of names, “photo-journalism” is just one, reporting on social issues such as the history of a region is just one of the many aspects of Journalism. If you can’t find an avenue there in Japan you might like to contact people such as National Geographic and similar publications for further prospects. There is no doubt what you do is good, and if you chose to you could significantly expand the write-up you do to make it a more in-depth coverage with more history and associated detail. This may be useful if you want to use this site as part of your “resume” for your application (I would strongly recommend this as it would show your commitment to reporting detail etc)

Thanks again,
Doug.

Journalism vs. mini-documentary, thanks for support David, geekmom, Jason, and Tornadoes. Working for an English language publication is a good idea if I could get it- though I’ve always wondered what I’d report on- hard news reporting has never much interested me, maybe I’d want to shoot for a features writer, or something more like a columnist. Anyway, I don’t know much about the field or employment opportunities here- I guess I ought to look into it

About Kemigawa and it being boarded up- in this case Kelly I think the local council is doing it’s due diligence- they can’t have people breaking in then hurting themselves, they’d be liable. I think that’s the main reason it’s locked down so tight.