fbpx
    • Spring
      • video

        Finding the Flow from Kansai to Kochi

        Shikoku’s many mountains, valleys and proximity to the ocean has made it a hidden gem for rafting, kayaking and canyoning enthusiasts willing to take a step or two further from the Golden Route of Kyoto and Osaka.

        Solace and Giant Salamanders in Akiota

        Just beyond Hiroshima City is a tranquil outdoor destination home to some of Japan's last remaining oosanshouo, the elusive giant salamander.
        Kyoto Oni Trail Outdoor Japanvideo

        The Oni Trail: Hiking Coastal Kyoto

        The mystical oni is prevalent in Japanese children’s stories, usually as a way to scare kids straight. Adventure Travel Kyoto is shedding a new light on this folklore and developing a new hiking route in the countryside of Kyoto.
    • Summer
      • the nomad pasche family

        The World is Our Playground

        The Pasche family has been cycling and living out of a tent in remote corners of the planet for the past 13 years on four continents spanning 50 countries.
        adventure travel world summit in hokkaido

        Adventure Travel World Summit in Hokkaido

        The ATTA will host their first Adventure Travel World Summit in Asia in Hokkaido, Japan. We caught up with ATTA Director Shannon Stowell to find out more about the adventure travel industry and how it continues to grow and evolve.
        mead brewing in japan

        The Sweet Secrets of Brewing Mead

        Wander into the world of mead brewing and find yourself immersed in a fascinating journey spanning centuries and continents.
        the knights in white lycra

        The Knights in White Lycra

        Each year a group of cyclists head to the deep north towards Tohoku’s vast rice fields and coastal trails to help transform the lives of neglected children.
        sea to table yamagata

        Sea to Table in Yamagata

        An unforgettable way to intimately explore the Shonai Region in Yamagata is a culinary experience bringing bounty of the sea straight to your table.
    • Autumn
    • Winter
      • video

        CAMP3 Clubhouse in Madarao

        Keith Stubbs, a veteran in the snowboard industry, transitioned from rider to coach and instructor trainer for Snowboard Instruction New Zealand. After coaching in various Japanese resorts, he has established a permanent base in Madarao, outlining his plans for the area and future snowboard endeavors.
        shiretoko hokkaido outdoor japan

        New Horizons in Shiretoko

        During another epic powder season, two seasoned winter sports enthusiasts traded their snowboard bags for camera bags and traveled to Eastern Hokkaido to explore the frozen landscape and broaden their winter horizons.
        sayuri matsuhashi double role curling athlete japan outdoor

        Silent Resilience

        Curling athlete Sayuri Matsuhashi’s journey to the top of her sport is an inspiration to deaf athletes and women juggling their roles as mothers while also pursuing their professional dreams.
        ainu tour daniel moore outdoor japan hokkaido

        Heritage Hunting in Hokkaido

        Travelers venturing beyond Hokkaido's popular winter resorts will discover a land with a rich cultural and natural history, a proud indigenous people and a community striving to preserve their heritage.
        shizukuishi skiing snowboarding outdoor japan

        Shizukuishi

        Northern Honshu’s Iwate Prefecture, known for heavy snowfall, features Shizukuishi—a powder-rich resort area with views of Mt. Iwate. Snow enthusiasts seeking lesser-known gems can enjoy exceptional snow quality and uncrowded resorts, including Shizukuishi Ski Resort, Amihari Onsen Ski Resort, and Iwate Kogen Snow Park, offering affordability and traditional hospitality.
    • Near Tokyo
      • getting dirty in japan

        Getting Dirty in Japan

        “Getting Dirty in Japan” is about getting out of your comfort zone and into some exciting outdoor adventures and destinations in Japan.
    • Near Kyoto
    • All Regions
    • Article Map
    • Ocean and Beach
      • getting dirty in japan

        Getting Dirty in Japan

        “Getting Dirty in Japan” is about getting out of your comfort zone and into some exciting outdoor adventures and destinations in Japan.
    • River and Lake
      • ainu tour daniel moore outdoor japan hokkaido

        Heritage Hunting in Hokka...

        Travelers venturing beyond Hokkaido's popular winter resorts will discover a land with a rich cultural and natural history, a proud indigenous people and a community striving to preserve their heritage.
        getting dirty in japan

        Getting Dirty in Japan

        “Getting Dirty in Japan” is about getting out of your comfort zone and into some exciting outdoor adventures and destinations in Japan.
    • Mountain and Land
    • Sky
      • getting dirty in japan

        Getting Dirty in Japan

        “Getting Dirty in Japan” is about getting out of your comfort zone and into some exciting outdoor adventures and destinations in Japan.
    • Snow and Ice
      • video

        CAMP3 Clubhouse in Madarao

        Keith Stubbs, a veteran in the snowboard industry, transitioned from rider to coach and instructor trainer for Snowboard Instruction New Zealand. After coaching in various Japanese resorts, he has established a permanent base in Madarao, outlining his plans for the area and future snowboard endeavors.
        shiretoko hokkaido outdoor japan

        New Horizons in Shiretoko

        During another epic powder season, two seasoned winter sports enthusiasts traded their snowboard bags for camera bags and traveled to Eastern Hokkaido to explore the frozen landscape and broaden their winter horizons.
        sayuri matsuhashi double role curling athlete japan outdoor

        Silent Resilience

        Curling athlete Sayuri Matsuhashi’s journey to the top of her sport is an inspiration to deaf athletes and women juggling their roles as mothers while also pursuing their professional dreams.
        shizukuishi skiing snowboarding outdoor japan

        Shizukuishi

        Northern Honshu’s Iwate Prefecture, known for heavy snowfall, features Shizukuishi—a powder-rich resort area with views of Mt. Iwate. Snow enthusiasts seeking lesser-known gems can enjoy exceptional snow quality and uncrowded resorts, including Shizukuishi Ski Resort, Amihari Onsen Ski Resort, and Iwate Kogen Snow Park, offering affordability and traditional hospitality.
        togari onsen outdoor japan

        Northern Shinshu’s Secret Stash

        A weak yen, revenge travel, and excellent ski conditions have led to high demand, booking out popular resorts like Hakuba and Nozawa Onsen this year. Fortunately, lesser-known gems like Togari Onsen, near Nozawa Onsen and Madarao, offer charming alternatives for powder seekers.
    • Travel
      • video

        CAMP3 Clubhouse in Madarao

        Keith Stubbs, a veteran in the snowboard industry, transitioned from rider to coach and instructor trainer for Snowboard Instruction New Zealand. After coaching in various Japanese resorts, he has established a permanent base in Madarao, outlining his plans for the area and future snowboard endeavors.
        shiretoko hokkaido outdoor japan

        New Horizons in Shiretoko

        During another epic powder season, two seasoned winter sports enthusiasts traded their snowboard bags for camera bags and traveled to Eastern Hokkaido to explore the frozen landscape and broaden their winter horizons.
        sayuri matsuhashi double role curling athlete japan outdoor

        Silent Resilience

        Curling athlete Sayuri Matsuhashi’s journey to the top of her sport is an inspiration to deaf athletes and women juggling their roles as mothers while also pursuing their professional dreams.
        ainu tour daniel moore outdoor japan hokkaido

        Heritage Hunting in Hokkaido

        Travelers venturing beyond Hokkaido's popular winter resorts will discover a land with a rich cultural and natural history, a proud indigenous people and a community striving to preserve their heritage.
        shizukuishi skiing snowboarding outdoor japan

        Shizukuishi

        Northern Honshu’s Iwate Prefecture, known for heavy snowfall, features Shizukuishi—a powder-rich resort area with views of Mt. Iwate. Snow enthusiasts seeking lesser-known gems can enjoy exceptional snow quality and uncrowded resorts, including Shizukuishi Ski Resort, Amihari Onsen Ski Resort, and Iwate Kogen Snow Park, offering affordability and traditional hospitality.
    • Food and Drinks
      • video

        CAMP3 Clubhouse in Madarao

        Keith Stubbs, a veteran in the snowboard industry, transitioned from rider to coach and instructor trainer for Snowboard Instruction New Zealand. After coaching in various Japanese resorts, he has established a permanent base in Madarao, outlining his plans for the area and future snowboard endeavors.
        shiretoko hokkaido outdoor japan

        New Horizons in Shiretoko

        During another epic powder season, two seasoned winter sports enthusiasts traded their snowboard bags for camera bags and traveled to Eastern Hokkaido to explore the frozen landscape and broaden their winter horizons.
        sayuri matsuhashi double role curling athlete japan outdoor

        Silent Resilience

        Curling athlete Sayuri Matsuhashi’s journey to the top of her sport is an inspiration to deaf athletes and women juggling their roles as mothers while also pursuing their professional dreams.
        ainu tour daniel moore outdoor japan hokkaido

        Heritage Hunting in Hokkaido

        Travelers venturing beyond Hokkaido's popular winter resorts will discover a land with a rich cultural and natural history, a proud indigenous people and a community striving to preserve their heritage.
        shizukuishi skiing snowboarding outdoor japan

        Shizukuishi

        Northern Honshu’s Iwate Prefecture, known for heavy snowfall, features Shizukuishi—a powder-rich resort area with views of Mt. Iwate. Snow enthusiasts seeking lesser-known gems can enjoy exceptional snow quality and uncrowded resorts, including Shizukuishi Ski Resort, Amihari Onsen Ski Resort, and Iwate Kogen Snow Park, offering affordability and traditional hospitality.
    • Races and Events
      • sayuri matsuhashi double role curling athlete japan outdoor

        Silent Resilience

        Curling athlete Sayuri Matsuhashi’s journey to the top of her sport is an inspiration to deaf athletes and women juggling their roles as mothers while also pursuing their professional dreams.

        Winter News and Notes

        Check out the latest news and winter events held at ski resorts all over Japan in 2024!
        dd4d brewing

        DD4D Brewing

        In nearly e...

Abandoned Dreamland

You can see Orion’s belt hanging over the replica of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. To your left is the dark outline of the Screwcoaster, its twisted rails like long black vertebrae slashed across the starry sky. Somewhere in the distance is Aska, the immense wooden roller coaster. You wonder how it will feel to stand at its topmost peak and feel the warm night breeze on your face.

There’s a sound nearby and you step quietly into the shadows. There is a ¥100,000 fine for being in this place now. There are rumors of night-vision security cameras, of hourly patrols, of silent alarms.

The sound ebbs away. It might have been a cicada. You are alone.

Nara Dreamland was the Disneyland in Japan, before Disney came to these shores. It imitated the overall theme and layout of Disney’s California park directly, from the Sleeping Beauty Castle to the Matterhorn Mountain, the Main Street entranceway to the numerous similar rides. For 45 years between 1961 and early 2000, it was Kansai’s premier theme park; anyone who was a kid growing up at the time in that area has surely been there.

Then Universal Studios opened in Osaka in 2001, with more modern rides and a more imaginative layout, and leeched away its fan base. Dreamland closed its doors permanently in 2006.

Now it’s a haikyo, a ruin, visited only by the security guard who drives around by day and by trespassing explorers at night.

Abandoned theme parks are high on the list of most haikyo-ists. There’s something fascinating about them, probably something to do with the magic they conjured up for us when we were kids; the mystery and terror of the ghost house, the thrilling excitement of the looping coaster, the lurching feeling as the Hellevator drops you 20 floors in two seconds. Disney understands well that theme parks are magical, places were dreams come to life.

Returning to a theme park after it has been abandoned is akin to wanting to see how the magic trick is done. The rides are still and silent, the car park is empty, the stalls shuttered and unmanned, but the potential for magic is still there. As an explorer, you have the VIP pass that lets you into all the backstage areas, lets you climb on the rides, lets you get up close to the mechanisms that ran the ghosts that used to terrify you so much.

In search of that backstage pass, I hunted down many abandoned theme parks around Japan, but at each site I was disappointed. Kappa Pia in Saitama was in the process of demolition. Namegawa Island had only concrete slabs where the rides had once been. Gulliver’s Kingdom had been wiped off the map completely.

Then there was Nara Dreamland. I did preliminary research several years back and was quickly turned off by warnings of the heavy security. Though this hobby is often illegal (if victimless), I’m not in it for the rush of evading “the man.” I’ve no desire to break into protected places, to crawl through live storm drains, or to go where my presence might cause actual damage. I just want to see what abandoned places turn into, once they’re out of our hands. 

However, with Dreamland I had to make an exception. It was either go in, evading security, prepared to run, or not go at all. So I decided to go. To minimize the chance of being caught I decided to go at night.

I arrived in Nara by Shinkansen a little after midnight. The streets were quiet and calm as I walked the 30 minutes to the Dreamland site, feeling the usual thrill of excitement. There was always the possibility the security guard might do night sweeps. There was still the threat of fines, motion sensors, alarms.

Access was easy. It was a cloudless night, the moon nearly full, everything bathed in pale light. I ambled past the pirate ship and the merry-go-round, both of them half-stripped of their facades and bleeding rusted machinery onto the tarmac. 

I passed through the grand fantasy castle and surveyed the Main Street USA entranceway, where all the bright pastel shops were shuttered and empty inside. I walked through the queuing lines for the huge wooden coaster Aska.

There’s something very ethereal about an empty theme park by moonlight. It’s not something you’re ever likely to see for yourself, and it’s difficult to capture in photographs. There’s a stillness, an aloneness, that creeps into you. I wandered in a kind of daze, drinking it in.

Dreamland has only been closed for four years, so there isn’t much overgrowth. Though in places weeds had shot up through the ubiquitous asphalt, trees had spread to enclose the tracks of metal coasters, and boats on the Jungle Cruise had sprung leaks and begun to capsize. 

I drifted around for hours, occasionally pausing to snap long-exposure shots of the stars, rides and castle. I climbed up Aska, dropped my flashlight as I went over the fence, and spent 10 minutes scrabbling among the brambles to find it. Occasionally I’d hear a noise and wonder if it was a security guard, ready to pounce.

By around 5 a.m. I was tired, so I curled up in the bucket seat of a kids ride and napped for about 30 minutes. When I woke up everything was blue, and the sun was coming up.

I’m rarely awake for dawn-rises, always taking people’s word for it when they said, “Dawn is the best time for photography.” It certainly wasn’t true of the first 30 minutes of dawn at Dreamland. For all that time, as I rushed around in a tired whirl worrying about the security guard, the light was blue and cold. After that half hour, it began to warm up though, and some of the sunrise vistas through the rides were spectacular.

By around 7 a.m. I was feeling antsy and ready to leave. The colors of the place had come out; the pink of the castle, the raw brown of Aska, but with them came the more obvious signs of neglect, the sensation that the place was dead for good reason, and the magic slowly faded away. What had been a place of dreams by night was becoming a sad, lonely memory by day. I packed up my camera and headed out.

[novo-map id=2 individual=”yes”]

Outdoor Japan logo tree

Related

Latest posts

CAMP3 Clubhouse in Madara...

Keith Stubbs, a veteran in the snowboard industry, transitioned from rider to coach and instructor trainer for Snowboard Instruction New Zealand. After coaching in various Japanese resorts, he has established a permanent base in Madarao, outlining his plans for the area and future snowboard endeavors.

New Horizons in Shiretoko...

During another epic powder season, two seasoned winter sports enthusiasts traded their snowboard bags for camera bags and traveled to Eastern Hokkaido to explore the frozen landscape and broaden their winter horizons.

Silent Resilience

Curling athlete Sayuri Matsuhashi’s journey to the top of her sport is an inspiration to deaf athletes and women juggling their roles as mothers while also pursuing their professional dreams.

Categories