The Empty Homes of Yokosawa Village

Yokosawa village is typical of the mountain communities of the Southern Alps in central Japan; most of which are situated in a setting of stunning natural beauty and inhabited by families who can trace their lineage into Japan's distant past. However, like other mountain communities in this area, Yokosawa's population is rapidly declining as young people move away to escape the perceived difficulties of rural life and to chase the glitter and dreams of urban Japan. After the old people are gone many homes are then left empty, often being abandoned by families who are unable to sell the property in a market with no buyers. Such homes slowly fall into disrepair or are abandoned altogether, often being reclaimed by nature and disappearing into the encroaching forest.

Visitors to Yokosawa will be charmed by the magical sense of peace and quiet which pervades the area, yet simultaneously unsettled by the notable absence of people. What I find most disturbing in such places is the conspicuous absence of children, from the empty playgrounds, abandoned school houses and even the laundry lines which carry only the shirts, pants and skirts of old men and old women. Farmers who have left the mountains and who reside in the city often complain that they miss the sounds of the hills: cascading water, the hum of insects and the warble of songbirds. However, those who remain in the countryside are more likely to lament the lost sound of human promise, which is carried best through the now absent voice and laughter of children.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Japan
• Yokosawa
• village
• empty
• homes
• abandoned
• home
• mountains
• tokaido
• softypapa

[Phoenixkidd]

Those fruits on the trellis are Kiwi fruit, a favorite in Japan. It's funny how crowded Japan can have places like this, all shows you that in order to populate an area good transportation is needed to shuttle people to and from the suburbs, and to create industry inland unfortunately Japan hasn't quite figured this out yet.

[softypapa]

@Phoenixkidd Thanks for pointing out what that fruit is and for your other insightful comments! ~Kurt :-)

[flumoxed38]

Looks so lovely. I always thought Japan was cramped with people in tiny flats. It seems very strange to make a choice of living in a cramped city, when this looks glorious. I don't understand it. Would it be possible just to move in, do a house up and start living there?Would you need to find owners & buy it? Are they going very cheaply?

[softypapa]

@flumoxed38 It's a mystery to me also why these lovely little villages are becoming ghost towns. As for living in such places you would need to contact the owner though the neighbors could help you find them. Rent for such places is very cheap (I heard of one place going for $35.00 a YEAR) as nobody wants to live here and the owners would likely be happy to have a caretaker. Some villages do not want outsiders though my experience has been that even foreigners are welcome. ~Kurt :-)

[SargonBighorn]

Will younger urban Japanese buy these places for summer use? Fix them up as their place in the country?

[softypapa]

@SargonBighorn Very few Japanese are interested in these places and most will likely either be torn down or slowly dissapear into the surrounding forest. No kidding, I sometimes find houses completely swallowed by the forest. If you peek inside they are fully furnished as though the owner had just stepped out to go to the grocery store. These places can be pretty spooky. Thanks for watching! ~Kurt :-)

[marblemill]

Thanks for your videos they are inspiring.  And im glad you went out on that misty wet day it made for such a distinct feel.

[ZROARINGTACO99]

This shit would be awsome for paintball or airsoft

[KiriouSs]

lol this looks like some anime :P

[xfaithfaith]

can you please please please go inside the house and show it to us? since it is abandoned? we are very curioussssss.

[maricz4]

what is it? 5:23

[morganix007]

@softypapa Wow! I would take one of those houses and fix it! Man there's a lot of people like me that would like to live there. I dream of being there in Japan but in the country side,just like that place. The rain makes it like really relaxing. I envy every Japanese. They have the greatest country on earth. MATA NE!

[NippleOfNippon]

@THEIMMORTALKIAM

come to japan. no one refuse foreigners who would love rural japan.

[gibbigib]

@Gypsielectro You're right on that one! We've been paying the rates for approx 3acrs of beach, farmland & woodland in Hokkaido for the last 15 years! We use it a couple of times a year but are hoping to find oil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!

[thunderinthevalley]

beautiful

[RoninAvenger]

Do they get snow up there?

[RoninAvenger]

Well if im ever homeless in japan, i know where to go.