Chilling city of abandoned hotels left to rot for 30 years in forgotten tourist hotspot with drinks still left on tables

The Sun

23-07-2025

A GHOST city full of eerie, abandoned hotels has stood untouched in Japan for more than 30 years.
A Brit explorer has documented his haunting visit to the once bustling tourist hotspot.
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Luke Bradburn stumbled upon the district of Kinugawa Onsen while exploring the Fukushima exclusion zone in early 2024.
Famed for its natural hot springs, this area would once have been buzzing with tourists and holidaymakers.
But Bradburn's exploration found the town in a much sorrier state.
Vast hotel buildings loomed over a cliffside river in a condition of disrepair and decay.
The abandoned ghost town is full of spooky reminders of its past glory, with arcade machines, taxidermy animals and even half-finished drinks littered the old hotels.
Bradburn spent six hours exploring Kinugawa Onsen, making his way through a handful of around 20 buildings.
The 28-year-old from Bury said: "It was like walking into a ghost town.
"There were abandoned cars on the streets and while you could drive through the area, every building around you was just left to rot.
"When we stepped inside, the contrast was mad.
"From the outside, it's all overgrown and decaying, but inside some of the rooms were pristine - like no one had touched them in decades."
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The town met its decline during an economic downturn Japan faced in the 1990s.
But while the hotels ended up closing, the country's property laws mean many of the buildings were never demolished.
"It's very different in Japan," Bradburn said.
"The crime rate is so low that abandoned buildings don't get looted or destroyed as quickly.
"In some cases, they need the owner's permission to demolish and if the owner died, they legally can't for 30 years."
He managed to explore around five or six of the eerie hotels through interconnected corridors and hallways.
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Bradburn made his way through abandoned lobbies, and found traditional Japanese onsen baths.
Some rooms were so well preserved it was almost like the guests had only just departed.
But others were falling apart more visibly, with missing floors and staircases hanging down.
"Each one felt like stepping into a time capsule," he added.
"You get a sense of what life must've been like here at its peak and then it just stopped.
"It's eerie, sad and fascinating all at once."
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