Ghost towns aren’t just found in the western United States. They’re everywhere. Even Japan, where they’re slightly more interesting than usual, because they’ve got dirty old video games (and dirty old video cassettes).
Nichitsu was, like old American ghost towns, a settlement based on gold mining. Named after the company which owned the mines (and which is now known as Chisso, and supplies the liquid in liquid crystal displays), Nichitsu was inhabited from the 1930s up until the 1980s.
Once the mines ran dry in the late ’70s, people began clearing out, but they didn’t entirely clear out: they left a whole lot of junk behind, like hospital supplies, porn and Famicoms (complete with faded copy of Dragon Quest III still inserted, released in 1988, making this surely one of the last families to leave).
The photos here were taken by Ikusuki, Pablo, CaDs and Saralú, with the entire gallery at the link below.
Nichitsu Ghost Town [Kirai, via Tiny Cartridge]
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