Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Haikyo

tsu3274

Haikyo is a Japanese word that means something along the lines of "ruin" and "abandoned building", and its a word that is becoming used in English now. There are lots of people who's hobby is exploring abandoned sites around Japan. Where I live close to half the buildings are abandoned, so it doesn't seem anything special.

tsu913

This tiny haikyo was on the trail leading up to the small chapel at Otome Pass, in Tsuwano, the site of the torture and martydom of Japanese christians in the late 19th Century.

tsu915

It was a small tea room/cafe, and was probably built in the late 1960's when Japan started to experience a domestic travel boom

tsu914

One of the fascinations of haikyo seems to be that often things will be left untouched as they were.

6 comments:

  1. I would love to go Haikyo exploring.

    This one is very sad and nostalgic looking, but interesting the way you explain it....

    ReplyDelete
  2. There are lots of haikyo where you are :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is unbelievably sad. How can a place not have been handed to someone to enjoy? Sound of one hand clapping, that's for sure...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Ann.... not enough customers!
    Japan is littered with closed down hotels built in the 60's and 70's...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I also love exploring these places.
    You never know what you might find.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I often go looking for abandoned locations around Miyakonojo here to shoot. But they're always locked up tight or in such a state of disrepair I don't trust going inside.

    ReplyDelete