Luke Bradburn, 28, discovered the forgotten tourist hotspot of Kinugawa Onsen, once a bustling resort town famed for its natural hot springs, during a 2024 trip to Japan
An urban explorer has stumbled upon a haunting, deserted city of hotels in Japan – abandoned and untouched for over three decades.
Luke Bradburn, 28, unearthed the forgotten holiday destination of Kinugawa Onsen, formerly a thriving resort town renowned for its natural hot springs. Bradburn journeyed to Japan in early 2024 to chronicle the Fukushima exclusion zone.
Whilst searching for other nearby sites, he chanced upon the derelict hotel quarter. What was previously a flourishing main street has become a ghost town featuring dozens of enormous hotel structures gradually crumbling alongside a clifftop river.
Several remain frozen in time, packed with arcade games, stuffed animals and even beverages still resting on tables.
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Luke dedicated six hours traversing wild vegetation, crumbling staircases and perilous precipices, investigating several of the approximately 20 vast structures.
Luke, from Bury, Greater Manchester 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.”
Kinugawa Onsen started declining during Japan’s financial crisis in the early 1990s, as visitor numbers dropped and numerous hotels closed their doors permanently. Japan’s stringent property laws have left many buildings untouched, as some owners passed away heirless or disappeared, resulting in a legal stalemate that prevents demolition.
Luke said: “It’s very different in Japan. 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 believes there are about 20 deserted hotels along Kinugawa Onsen’s riverbanks. Luke managed to visit five or six of these by navigating the interconnected passageways.
He remarked: “Each one felt like stepping into a time capsule. 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.”
Within these hotels, Luke discovered magnificent foyers, authentic Japanese onsen baths, and rooms that appeared to be suspended in time. He observed: “One of the strangest things was walking into a lobby and seeing a massive taxidermy deer and falcon still standing there. It was bizarre. I’d seen pictures of it online before and then suddenly we were face to face with it.”
Some chambers were preserved so immaculately, it seemed as though the occupants had only just departed.
Luke noted: “We found arcade machines still filled with toys, tables set with drinks and rooms that looked like they hadn’t been touched in decades. It was surreal.
“There were floors missing, staircases hanging down, parts where you had to backtrack because everything had collapsed. It was really unsafe in some areas , you had to be so careful.”