An intrepid 2ch inhabitant has paid a visit to a long abandoned Japanese village deep in the mountains, sharing some fascinating images of its battle with nature, a battle which seems to be going quite badly at times.
The exact location is not disclosed – a summary of the information provided by the poster is that he paid a March visit to an abandoned village in the Kinki region, deep in the mountains (“So rural you can’t even get reception for your phone” and “It took 40 minutes of mountaineering to get there”), using his iPhone to take snaps.
The date of its abandonment is also not mentioned – the architecture, street furniture, plastics and electric appliances seem to suggest habitation ceased in the 1970s or 80s.
Incidentally, unlike the rampant trespass, vandalism and looting which passes for “urban exploration” elsewhere, the visitor reported seeking and receiving permission from an old man who lived at the base of the mountain and tended to the abandoned village, receiving the key to the gates.
Other hazards which beset the visitor included menacing troupes of monkeys (“Be careful not to get attacked – they are usually OK if you don’t make eye contact. I saw a little baby monkey playing on a dry riverbed – really cute…” along the road to the site, and various traps for wild animals.
He also complained of being unable to broadcast his expedition live to 2ch as there was no phone reception…
Despite being completely uninhabited for a long time, the visitor reported hearing many strange noises from amidst the ruins, which he optimistically attributed to wild animals.
An abandoned shrine – “I quite fancied going in and having a look but I was too terrified so I couldn’t.”
“Personally, this place was the worst. When we went to take a peek inside, there was the sound of a fusuma [sliding screen] sliding shut. Me and my friend legged it.”
An interesting exchange about life in the mountains:
“A lot of these sorts of places aren’t always abandoned. In the mountains where it snows heavily, some communities are abandoned in winter, with the inhabitants returning in the spring. A seasonal village, in effect. That noise you heard, if it wasn’t a robber it could have been an inhabitant.”
“I was told nobody had lived up there for a long, long time. And most of the houses were ruined with broken doors. Some had collapsed completely.”
Those interested in seeing more of Japan’s abandoned places could do worse than to take a look at the previous galleries of forsaken spots.
This right here could be a real life Fatal Frame.
Sorry for being over a year late to finding this, but pic 21 shows a phone book that says “Taga town phone book”, and the year “Heisei 18”, or 2007. So it had phone service more recently than the 1980s.
Here is a site showing the exact phone book, the one in the pic is faded from green to blue, it seems:
http://ictaga.com/?p=235
I’m way late to this article, but abandoned places can be pretty dangerous, and wild animals, insects, and rickety, falling apart architecture and infrastructure can be way scarier than any ghost.
Ghost might scare you, but wild animals and insects can attack you and give you serious infections and diseases, and even kill you, particularly if they’re venomous or you have an allergy to something in them.
Then there’s rusty metal (tetanus), falling walls and ceilings (you can get crushed), potentially loose or cracked ground you might fall through, doors that might slam into you as they get blown open by the wind (airflow can open and shut doors and even some types of windows), actual inhabitants that might carry some disease that isn’t common enough to have vaccinations for… the list goes on and on.
Real life, material dangers are scary and threatening enough even before considering the supernatural. IMO, a friendly or ambivalent ghost might be preferable to a real poisonous or diseased creature that might hit you with venom or rabies or the like.
It’s an abandoned village in Japan, not an ancient temple in a Malaysian jungle or some s♥♥t.
Where I live this village would have been plundered by gypsies long ago.
those noises are not wild animals i tell you!!!