Offbeat Japan An Alternative Guide of Japan

These haikyo hospitals always attract me, especially the very old ones in Japan. They possess magical and enchanting powers; thus when you walk around, there tends to be many mysterious encounters.

A house in the middle of the forest is reminiscent of the adventures of Hansel and Gretel. This one is unfortunately not made of gingerbread, but maybe we will discover an old witch and her stupendous stories?

Aokigahara, known as Japan’s suicide forest, is a unique place in other ways. Silent, no wildlife in sight, magnificent trees and shrubs, and really easy to lose yourself in.

Abandoned in 1974, the Battleship Island (Gunkanjima) turned into the Ghost Island and soon became one of the most famous spot for urban exploration.

I am a great fun of abandoned hospitals, they are my favorite type of haikyo. Not those empty concrete buildings, but the small wooden clinics rotting away quietly in the countryside without anyone noticing.

I have always liked abandoned Japanese schools. Not only they are sleeping beautifully far away in forgotten countrysides but they are also the cradle of the Japanese soul.

A clear sky, rising temperature, it feels like holidays. Perfect time to pay a new visit to a few abandoned amusement parks!

So everyday, I was walking from Ginza and Shiodome and on the way, here it was: the Nakagin Capsule Tower.

Nara Dreamland was an abandoned amusement park. I've just spent a year in Nara (2015-2016), a kilometre from the park, so it's time for me to write a little epilogue.

Hidden below the Tokyo streets is a true superhero – a bitumen-washed facility with state-of-the-art technology and an architectural beauty to put a Corbusier or two in the shade. This is G-Cans, also known by...