All the Demolished Haikyo

Mike Grist Demolished, Ruins / Haikyo 54 Comments

Several times people have asked me to put up a list of demolished haikyo, to save other people the inconvenience of heading to them and finding them gone. Fair enough- I would certainly have appreciated that info myself.

This page is open to being updated- so if you’ve got fresh info about demolished or altered or inaccessible haikyo- please let me/us know in the comments below.

TOHOKU

Kamaishi Mine, Iwate– Demolished, only foundations left (2007/08)

Greenland Theme Park, Fukushima- Demolished

KANTO

Boyou Hotel, Chiba– Demolished (to my knowledge).

Kappa Pia Theme Park, Saitama– Demolished (2007)

Tai Hei Yo Cement Plant, Saitama– Demolished (2008)

Hume Cement plant, Saitama– Demolished (2010)

Nichitsu Mining Town, Saitama– Surgical light stolen (2007?), Brain in a jar stolen (2009), several newer apartments reported demolished (2009)

Kemigawa Transmission Base, Chiba– Inaccessible, very well bolted up.

Fuchu Air Base, Tokyo– Inaccessible unless you’re very brave/fool-hardy, as partially a live base.

Tachikawa Air Base, Tokyo– Likewise, and mostly demolished anyway.

Royal Love Hotel, Kanagawa– Inaccessible, tight security.

Sun Hills Hotel, Kanagawa– Demolished except for car park.

Sano Sanami Hot Springs, Tochigi- Demolished.

Shin Hokota Hospital, Ibaraki- Demolished.

Gullivers Kingdom, Kanagawa– Demolished (around 2006)

Yamanakako Resort Hotel, Kanagawa- Being turned into apartments (tip Cousin Macho)

Shin Shu Kanko Hotel, Nagano- Currently being demolished (tip Paul)

Sports World, Izu– Demolished sometime September 2010.

Keishin Radiology Hospital, Kanagawa– Demolished or soon to be demolished, as bought up by the council in April 2010.

CHUBU

Nagoya Toyo Bowl, Nagoya- Demolished to my knowledge

T hospital, Izu- Demolished to my knowledge.

B Hotel, Izu- Likewise.

Fukinuki Hotel, Aichi- Gone according to internet sites (tip from Florian)

KANSAI

Inagawa Trap Shooting, Osaka- Reduced to a pile of rubble in late 2007 (tip from Florian)

Koga Family Land, Shiga- Demolished in late 2008 after being abandoned for more than 20 years (2 small buildings are left, but it’s only worth going there if you are in the area for other reasons) (tip from Florian)

Love Hotel Seline (maybe the correct name), Mie- Gone (tip from Gakuranman)

Shin Kobe Pool, Hyogo- gone and replaced by a DIY store (tip from Florian)

Nara Dreamland, Nara– Guarded with motion sensors and security, but not too stringently it seems.

Saline Tourist Hotel, Himeji, Hyogo- Gone according to internet sites (tip from Florian)

Warship Apartments, Osaka- Gone according to internet sites (tip from Florian)

Treasure Museum Ise, Mie- Gone according to Paul.

Hitler Surgical Hospital, Hyogo- Gone according to Florian.

Sekigahara Menard Land, Kansai- Gone according to Florian.

KYUSHU

KyuNagasaki Prison, Nagasaki– Almost totally demolished, front gate and single guard tower only remaining (2007). 2010 update- only the gate left. Probably all gone by now.

Gunkanjima (Hashima Island), Nagasaki- Marginally open to tourists on a ferry tour.

Kushizaki Cape Hotel, Fukuoka- Gone according to internet sites (tip from Florian)

Nihon Cement, Mojiko- Demolished in late 2008 (tip from Florian)

OK.

Again- if anyone has any updates to add, comment or contact me directly and I’ll update, along with a link for your trouble.

In the meantime, check out my haikyo explores here:
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Comments 54

  1. As long as they don’t demolish Sports World before I have a chance to see it for myself I will be happy. Shame they got rid of the Toyo Bowl, that was another on my list to look up. πŸ™

  2. One more for the list:

    The Yamanakako Resort Hotel is no longer accessible, as it’s being turned into apartments. The vault and the dead pig hotel are still ok, though.

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    Adam- The Toyo Bowl I mentioned above is not the one you might have seen on my site. The one in Kanagawa is still standing to my knowledge, only the Nagoya one (biggest in the world!) is gone (I think).

    Tom R- Thanks for tip, added it in along with a link to your flickr.

  4. Thanks for the list – it makes your great page even better!
    As for the Kansai area:
    Inagawa Trap Shooting (?????????) in Osaka: Reduced to a pile of rubble in late 2007.
    Koga Family Land (??????????) in Shiga: Demolished in late 2008 after being abandoned for more than 20 years (2 small buildings are left, but it’s only worth going there if you are in the area for other reasons).

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    Sera- I know, what a shame right. Can’t imagine why anyone would want a brain in a jar. Perhaps as a prop in someone’s photo studio. Otherwise it’s just morbid junk.

    Florian- Thanks a lot, tips added.

  6. Just wondering about the brain…Did anyone wonder if maybe the doctor, one of the doctor’s office workers, a family member, or whoever owned all of those things in the the office at Nichitsu saw the hype it was getting online and came to recover them with permission on their own? Or maybe that someone else formerly from the town came to retrieve them who might have thought that all of the people gawking were possibly desecrating the place they spent so many years of their lives in? It was the first thing that came to my mind about it since it’s such a popular site online, honestly. *shrug*

  7. I can second that about Koga famly land, judging from several Japanese sources I read recently. Was thinking of going there recently but decided not to because of that. Also, I think it’s called Hotel Seline (the gaudy looking love hotel in the book that is in or very near Mie-ken close to the coast) – I don’t have the book here right now. Went looking for it recently and found the empty plot of land – it’s gone man πŸ™

  8. Ok, some from Nagano-ken:

    Shinshu Kanko Hotel between Nagano and Ueda (?????98) is presently in process of being demolished. My map neglects to mention there is a closer train station to the site. Curiously, they seem to be dismantling the rooms on the top floor whilst demolition equipment is being used on the lower floors (wtf?)

    The same day, I also went in search of the Korean school in Matsumoto city (?????100) but couldn’t find it. Can’t confirm or deny its existence. Didn’t help that the guidebook’s map is even more rubbish than usual on this one. Quick web search came up with your blog on visiting the castle, and judging by your descption of some local landmarks near the site, I’m guessing you went looking for this one too. How was your luck?

    And in Kanagawa-ken:

    The hospital in with all its sweet urban art (?????85, you wouldn’t believe my experiences when I went there) is still standing last I heard, but between my visit in Spring year and a friend’s in Autumn, some douche has gone and tagged all the remaining untagged artwork. Still worthwhile, but sad nonetheless.

    I’ve been lucky enough to both visit a tonne of sites and chat to a fair few other haikyo travellers on the road this year, so I’ll rack my brain for any more status updates. Thank you so much for this post, this list has already saved me time from detouring to one demolished site.

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    Mike- Cheers for info, good to get confirmation on the theme park too. I don’t know of any proper theme parks left standing now, which is a shame.

    Paul- Shin Shu Kanko is coming down? I feel like I was just there, though in actuality it was about a year ago. North Korean School, haven’t searched for it myself so can’t speak to that. The castle is still there, yeah. The graffiti hospital seems to always be in flux. I think artists go there regularly and redo the walls. I’ve been twice and each time there was new art.

    Thanks for info, makes it a resource for us all.

  10. Aah, this makes complete sense!

    I visited Shin Shuu Kankou Hotel at the end of November ’09: was still standing at the time, but the sign had been pulled down, which did make me wonder if some demolition company had their sights on it. Also, it was by far the most difficult haikyo to enter that I encountered: barbed wire; metal fences; etc. I remember thinking at the time that it must have been recently re-enforced, because all the barriers to entry seemed relatively recent.

    A lot of glass had been removed from windows and painstakingly gathered together, but I thought that was a hangover from the initial closure, to be honest. A number of buildings in the vicinity of the hotel were being pulled down at the time, so maybe the area’s receiving a bit of an overhaul. I guess it follows that the hotel itself might be in the firing line, being the visible-from-miles-away eyesore that it is.

    A real shame, that.

  11. Yep, Toyo Bowl in Aichi is deff. gone, I was lucky enough to get there before it happened, same with Koga FamilyRand. Wish I had got to Greenland in Fukushima though…
    Have you been to a certain park in Nara yet? Very difficult but well worth it if you can, the best explore I have done so far.

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    Tom- Thanks for this, helps confirm the fate of that behemoth.

    drzeus- Thanks for confirmations. Nara park- is it the one only closed down recently? I heard it has tight security- is that true?

    1. Hi Florian, you seem to know a lot about the Haikyo that’s around πŸ™‚ I’ll be over there to explore in June/July and I’d love somebody to a) maybe explore with and b) ask any questions if I’m stuck. I don’t expect locations, but there are some spots which I’ll no doubt have questions about. Anyway, please let me know if this doesn’t sound like too much hassle.

  13. Thanks for this list. I’m in Japan in the next couple of months, and was going to check things out.

    Good to know what’s not there.

  14. Hi MJG,

    here are some more demolished places – I haven’t been there myself, but saw pictures / articles about them on the internet:
    Fukinuki Hotel, Aichi
    Saline Tourist Hotel, Himeji, Hyogo
    Warship Apartments, Osaka
    Kushizaki Cape Hotel, Fukuoka

  15. Hello everyone, does any one try recently the nara park ? Drzeus you said not that difficult, what do you mean ? warn regards to you.

  16. David – The park isn’t demolished, it’s not even really abandoned: Active alarm systems, guards… it barely qualifies as haikyo. (It’s a fascinating place though, even from the outside – but getting in there can get you into serious trouble. It’s almost like breaking into Disneyland or USJ.)

  17. Japanese blogs shows #078 in southern Chiba was demolished in 2008. Twas going to be in the area but it doesnt look the most interesting site anyway.

  18. Word on the street is that the Kanagawa Toyo Bowl is being scouted around by construction company dudes. Little surprise given the adjacent lots have all been under reconstruction for some time.

  19. re:David,
    put it this way, I got in by cycling through the main gate.
    There are no motion sensors. Only one on the perimeter which is to stop people dumping their rubbish.
    I would call it Haiyko, the streets are abandoned with weeds growing over them. Windows are smashed etc.
    We did get caught, but were just asked to leave. Twice.
    Another Gaijin who contacted me about it had no problems at all and took some incredible photos.

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    Thanks for all the updates folks. I added them all in to the main article. Paul you said 78 in Chiba is gone, I can confirm, went there a while back. The Hotel Boyou.

  21. MJG

    thank you for all of the info you’ve put together on this site, its really great.
    your photos are amazing.

    I just picked up a copy of “Nippon no Haikyo” a few days ago. the first place i tried to go to is in my town, but its no longer abandoned #101 in the book. a love hotel in Toyohashi. it seems to be under new management or something because when i went past a few days ago it was definitely running.

    also i have a small request, my knowledge of kanji is none existent, i have limited knowledge hiragana and katakana. if its not too much to ask could you link the places mentioned in this article to their number in the book, if they have one?

    thanks

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  23. From the Mainichi Shimbun:
    (source: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20100501p2a00m0na008000c.html)

    ATSUGI, Kanagawa — A derelict hospital here widely known for being “haunted” and the site of petty crime has been bought by the city and is set to be demolished and have its land redeveloped into a park, city officials have announced.

    According to the city, after “Atsugi Keishin Hospital” closed in 1997, the building has been left to deteriorate, becoming the target of graffiti and suffering damage such as broken windows and a small fire.

    The hospital has been introduced as a “haunted spot” on both television and the Internet, and some youths who tried to sneak a look at the “haunted” hospital last year ended up being mugged. The problems have led local residents to complain to the city.

    To remove the hospital, the city sought the ownership deed from its registered owner, a religious organization in Osaka Prefecture, but negotiations were stymied by the fact that the land was put up as collateral for loans. However, when the organization failed to pay city taxes on time, the land was seized and put up for public auction. On April 23, the Atsugi Municipal Government bought the hospital and its 2,605-square-meter lot with a bid of 12.63 million yen. The city says it was the only bidder.

    (Mainichi Japan) May 1, 2010

  24. MJG

    I have to retract my earlier post
    #101 in the nippon no haikyo book in Toyohashi is still still here. it is right next to the running love hotel, but its hidden in the trees.
    sorry about that

  25. Lest anyone go searching for Japan’s first “treasure” museum in Ise, Mie anytime soon, don’t bother. Yeah, theres some photos from 2007 on the web showing the front all haikyo’d up just post-closure, and Google Earth’s imagery makes me think it was a haikyo for a decent while, but its a well clean swept block now.

  26. Nagasaki Prison (Nagasaki) is down to just the gate (no more tower even) and 4 hungry looking scoops.

    Manda (Kumamoto) appears to be a gazetted tourist attraction akin to Gunkanjima/Hashima so likely no exploration opportunities there.

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  27. Fuchu base now has tri-point fences and beefed-up security due to the recent APEC summit. Source is a Japanese haikyo friend who went to check it out early one morning a few weeks ago.

  28. The Ainball bowling / pachinko hall close to the coast in Kyoto prefecture (131 in the now almost completely useless book) was reduced to a pile of rubble according to Damon (Total Japandemonium).

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      1. My pleasure – I put actually a few more on my (public) map od demolished places in Japan, I was just too lazy to list them all… especially since most of them were not very well known in the first place.

  29. Hello

    Seika Dormitory in tokyo has now been demolished, I looked around this morning and all that was left was a cleared out area. You can see in this post as well.

    http://jett.in/sayonara-seika-dormitory/

    To bad it would have been cool to see, but oh well. thanks for creating this page it should save people alot of time.

    regards

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