overdeveloped. the problem with these giant hotels is that they are extremely ugly for anyone other than those inside of it. they make the town itself unattractive to walk around and explore. that kills local businesses and encourages people to simply remain inside the resort for all of their activities, recreation and meals. then add on the financial crises and depopulation, and suddenly there's nothing to support the tourism in the area. in the same time you can get from Tokyo to Kusatsu onsen, a much nicer place that has preserved the small-town feel and focused on exploring the small streets, local businesses and rural surroundings.
Nice in-depth investigation video. It was a shame the demons of the late 90’s economy in Japan closed this town mostly. Hopefully as a “haunted town” it might get new tourists, or whatever hot spring business that can be safely salvaged can bring life back.
I live in Massachusetts in the USA. I'm 66 now. When I was a kid a small department store in my town burned down. It took near 30 years for the land to be sold. The CITY tore the burned building down because it was a safety hazard. The property owner never paid the property taxes but was still able to fight the taking of the land for decades. The only way is for the government to take over those buildings and take them down. As you said, "Not easy". Make you wonder if the local politicians that let these buildings go up, got "Paid"?
Thank you very much for your very thought-provoking comments. What you have pointed out may be the essence of the abandoned house problem in Kinugawa Onsen. The reasons for leaving the abandoned buildings there, such as "the cost of demolition is enormous" and "the owner is missing and cannot be torn down without permission," are merely announcements from the town's administration. Why were these hotels allowed to be built in such a place? First of all, clarifying where the responsibility lies should be the key to solving the problem, right? However, such things will always be hidden in the dark, though.
que pena, trabajé en kinugawa en 3 hoteles en los 90' me trae mucha nostalgia y pena su paisaje es hermoso y ahora veo que la mayoría de los hoteles es cerrado y abandonado 😞😞
I was here in 2019 and 2022. Its near very popular tourist town Nikko. I was looking for a super-cheap hotel and found this location and old hotel with onsen. In December 2022 I returned and found that my hotel from 2019 was also closed forewer...
A great video, i have seen several videos of the abandoned hotels in Kinugawa onsen but yours is the only one with excellent english translations and explanations. Thank you for your efforts. I look forward to viewing your other works. Kevin.
