Abandoned 'Wild West' theme park frozen in time shocks visitor: 'Left to rot'
Lukka Bradburn traveled to rural Japan last year to document abandoned theme parks — and was surprised by what he found left behind in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and after years of decline, according to news agency SWNS.
Bradburn, a printer, explorer and father of two, came across the parks after researching the areas on Google Maps.
He found an entire derelict colonial "American town" area complete with hotels, churches and restaurants.
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The "Western Village" theme park near Nikkō, Tochigi, has stood virtually untouched since its closure in 2007, its sprawling grounds frozen in time like a ghost town straight out of 1800s America, SWNS reported.
Nature has been slowly reclaiming the land: Vines have crawled up church walls and snow has blanketed abandoned porches.
Opened in 1973, the theme park was inspired by classic American and Italian Western movies — but it closed because of competition from Tokyo Disneyland, per SWNS.
Bradburn even discovered a replica of Mount Rushmore still intact, along with saloon bars and a stadium where crowds once watched jousting and other sports.
The replica monument emerged among frost-covered trees, its stone faces still clearly defined against the sky.
Nearby, weathered structures and themed facades lined the pathways, evoking the appearance of a long-forgotten frontier town.
The site was littered with mannequins depicting life in "Wild West" America, according to SWNS.
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Abandoned buildings include a gift shop that was boarded up and heavily damaged.
Among the rubble, Bradburn managed to find a prop gun on the floor and an arcade with the original machines.
With parts of the park still standing, he noted that navigating the sites was surprisingly straightforward.
During his exploration, Bradburn said that both attractions were easily accessed.
"The Western one had a bit of a fence, but you could pretty much just walk in," he said.
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"There was no security or anyone watching over it; it was just left to rot," he added, as SWNS noted.
The absence of maintenance left the area in a state of disrepair.
"As we got to one park it was heavily snowing and we were having to get through all these bushes," he told SWNS. "It was quite overgrown."
Both were in rural areas surrounded by countryside, mountains and small towns, creating the picturesque snowy scenery seen in the photos shown within this article.
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On his adventure, Bradburn and his friends came across another urban explorer, a Japanese man who said he used to visit the park as a child.
The man, who spoke limited English, told the friends he'd returned to take photographs of the theme park, according to SWNS.
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While exploring, Bradburn also came across the remains of Kejonuma Leisure Land, which once attracted 200,000 visitors in the remote Tohoku region; it closed in 2001.
He found a decaying ornate Ferris wheel, carousels and children's train rides.
The attraction closed due to falling demand and the struggling Japanese economy, per SWNS.
The site, once a popular destination in the remote Tohoku region, has seen little change since its closure.
Visitors can still identify many of the original attractions, though time and weather have taken a visible toll.
Bradburn said he plans to return to Japan next year for further exploring.
"The Japanese theme park industry entered a boom during the 1960s and 1970s, reaching a peak in the 1990s. Since then, they’ve seen a gradual decline," according to The Park Database.