An explorer who visited Japan’s largest abandoned resort has shared fascinating footage of the decaying complex – including the remnants of what would have been a five-star, 1000-room hotel.
Josh, a YouTube content creator from the United States, regularly delves into some of the world’s spookiest abandoned sites, including The Paris Catacombs and Pripyat, a ‘ghost’ town located in Chernobyl.
In a recent video uploaded to his channel, @ExploringWithJosh, in July, the adventurer travelled to Ishikawa, Japan, to take a closer look at Utopia Kaga.
The resort, also known as Kaga No Sato, was a religious-themed amusement park that had opened in 1987, before it was abandoned and torn down in 2005 following the Japanese bubble economy collapse in the early 1990s.
Once a thriving attraction, the 28 billion yen (£141M) resort featured temple halls, rollercoasters, a golden pagoda and a 240ft statue of Kaga Daikannon.
But over four decades on, nothing remains of the park’s past glory after being left to the elements due to high demolition costs.
Though the towering golden statue still overlooks the lush green landscape, much of the resort is in ruins, with scenes from Josh’s video showing dilapidated buildings, crumbling cars and overgrown vegetation.
In one scene, Josh and his crew can be seen heading into the Raken Hall, which is home to 1000 Buddha statues with unique expressions.
Josh and his crew can be seen heading into the Raken Hall at the Utopia Kaga resort, which is home to 1000 Buddha statues with unique expressions.
Josh’s video shows dilapidated buildings, crumbling cars and overgrown vegetation
In the hotel’s time-capsule rooms, wooden hangers are seen perfectly hung in wardrobes, while duvet covers remain folded on top of beds and fridges lay intact and unplugged nearby
Blown away by the set-up, he commented: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this. This is a surreal place. The decay of the ceiling… all of the statues in a row… This is something in a dream.’
He then moved on to explore the resort’s sprawling, five-star hotel, which was initially designed to allow hundreds of visitors to experience a 33-temple pilgrimage in a single day.
In scenes captured by Josh, the hotel, which was finally vacated around 2012, astonishingly appears frozen in time.
Most of the largely empty rooms in the building can be seen with broken glass windows and tattered curtains and carpets.
However, wooden hangers are seen perfectly hung in wardrobes, while duvet covers remain folded on top of beds and fridges lay intact and unplugged nearby.
Tatami rooms remain untouched, with calendars still on walls, while toy dispensers continue to spill out toys.
One of the hotel’s ‘main areas’ is shown strewn with old wooden furniture, a fully functional keyboard, and even an old crumbling Cadillac parked inside.
Josh commented that the classic car had been ‘preserved pretty well’ despite its condition.
Once a thriving attraction, the 28 billion yen (£141M) resort featured temple halls, rollercoasters, a golden pagoda and a 240ft statue of Kaga Daikannon
Over four decades on, nothing remains of the park’s past glory after being left to the elements due to high demolition costs
Meanwhile, multiple onsen – Japanese hot spring bathing facilities that use geothermal waters – across the complex feature baths overtaken by creeping greenery and surrounded by broken porcelain and debris.
In a bizarre twist to the visit, Josh stumbled across an entire building that contains what appears to be a model of a Middle Eastern land, complete with a floor made of sand, miniature camels and tiny palm trees.
Concluding his visit, Josh said: ‘Our mouths are completely dry. This is one for the books. One of the coolest places in Japan.’
Though the park is in ruins, it now stands as an attraction where visitors can interact with free-roaming rabbits and engage in activities like feeding them and participating in craft workshops. There is also a museum displaying sculptures and lacquerware.
