Many people have a fascination with abandoned buildings and places. Exploring the old closed off buildings and imagining a world that once was. I’m not one of these people, however, I wanted to seek out someone who is and get an insight into their abandoned building experiences.

Hyogo has a few famous abandoned buildings. The most famous is the old Maya Hotel. This has been closed off to the public for a while but the folks at Abandoned Kansai have some excellent photos and a write up about it.

Another famous place is out on Awaji Island, the Awaji Kannon. Opening in 1982, it was the world’s tallest statue but was left abandoned in 2006. Australian Vlogger Lin Nyunt recently went out to the Awaji Kannon and after watching his video on YouTube I had to reach out to him to find out why he went out there.

Lin, thanks for joining us at HyogoJapan.com

Thanks so much for having me.

Let’s start with the basics. How long have you been in Japan and how long have you been vlogging?

I’ve lived in Japan for the past four years and I made my very first (pretty cringey) vlog also four years ago. But I’ve been vlogging regularly (and hopefully, now less cringey) for over 2.5 years.

I’ve never thought to explore an abandoned property, what made you head out to Awaji Kannon?

I actually saw it from the expressway while driving from Osaka to Tokushima two years earlier. I remember catching fleeting glimpses of what looked like a giant white Buddha. Being a Buddhist myself, it piqued my interest but we didn’t have time to stop. I didn’t actually know it was abandoned at that time.

Then, upon reading some blogs like Abandoned Kansai and others about the site, I thought it had a really interesting history. The fact that it wasn’t actually built by a temple or religious organisation but a private businessman was truly bizarre and I had to find out more.

So, when my partner and I decided to revisit Tokushima for our second time to the Awa Odori, our favourite festival by the way, I decided to vlog the experience on the way back.

In your video you say a few times that you heard noises, did you see other people out there?

You know what, I didn’t actually see anyone! But I heard two pairs of people and (hopefully) their footsteps. We were just on different sides of the building so we never crossed paths. The first were a couple on the first floor. Then I heard a couple of guys a few floors up. They were engaging in general conversation and talking about the site so I don’t think it was ghosts, haha. But they did knock over a glass bottle and I heard what sounded like a door slamming which was super creepy.

Did you notice any signs telling you not to enter?

No, I didn’t see any written signs forbidding me to enter. When you go there, you’re greeted by overgrown foliage and an extremely derelict exterior. Broken glass, graffiti (rare for Japan) and even an old sofa and TV by the entrance. It gives off a real post-apocalyptic vibe. The main entrance and all other windows on the ground floor were boarded up. So I guess that was their way of saying don’t enter. However, there was a side entrance with a broken glass door. I had come all that way, camera in tow, I just had to check it out.

Have you been to any other abandoned places?

Kind of. While we were in Tokushima Prefecture on the same trip, we visited a village called Nagoro in Iya Valley. It’s known as the Village of the Dolls because its scarecrows outnumber the residents tenfold. I actually made a vlog about it as well.

It was once home to around 300 people working in forestry and the construction of the Nagoro Dam. Now only about 30 people live there. So it’s not fully abandoned.

One of the residents, Ms. Tsukimi Ayano made all 400 of the scarecrows herself. Initially, she made one in the likeness of her father to scare the birds away in her garden. But she also saw it as a way to bring “life” back to the village. The scarecrows are effigies of past residents and then some, including Donald Trump.

There’s a visitor centre that has a book filled with profiles of some of the people the scarecrows represent. She runs monthly workshops where you can build your own scarecrow with her. They also hold a scarecrow festival on the first Sunday of October every year.

While we were there, I visited the abandoned elementary school. It finally closed some years ago when the last two students graduated. I believe teachers outnumbered the students then too with three teachers to two students.

The only building I could enter was the gym which became a scarecrow display. You can also see scarecrows inside the school building through the windows. It’s still in pretty good shape. Funnily enough, I could still see office equipment left there through the windows.

It’s a sad reality for a lot of these villages in Japan where people move to towns or cities for work.

Do you think you’ll seek out more abandoned places in the future?

Yes, I hope to. There’s something I find interesting about these places. Why were they abandoned? What would it have been like in its heyday? As you know, there are quite a few in Kansai and I follow the Abandoned Kansai blog and YouTube channel for ideas.

I’m not what you would call a hardcore abandoned explorer. There are quite a few big YouTubers already in that niche.

But haikyo or “ruins” does interest me. Probably the one I’m most fascinated by is the Western Village in Nikko. It’s an “Old West” style theme park, complete with defunct animatronic cowboys. Being a big fan of Westworld, this place seems to be the very embodiment of it. So hopefully one day I can make it out there and many more places.

But next time I’ll go with someone. Weird noises in dark buildings creep me out.

– Lin Nyunt