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When I first started traveling in Japan, the dilapidated countryside was very disconcerting to me, almost felt like I'd stumbled into some sort of back room. T

When I first started traveling in Japan, the dilapidated countryside was very disconcerting to me, almost felt like I'd stumbled into some sort of back room. The more time I spent there, however, the more I came to appreciate the aesthetics of the lonely restaurants, the rusted steel-sided buildings, almost abandoned shrines, etc. Hard to say what exactly is so appealing about it, but it sticks with you.

andromaton 3y ago
Could it be the quiet and calmness?
- rgrieselhuber 3y ago
  It reminds me of the forest passage concept described by Ernst Jünger. He was writing about sovereignty within one's own consciousness and I'm not referencing this particular context in this case (although they probably are related) but more generally how "the hinterlands" provide a place away from the beam of focus that a society maintains. Almost by definition these places feel forgotten but once you get over the unnerving sense of separation and isolation from everything, your imagination seems to recover some of its creativity. That creativity then fills in the gaps visually to create an aesthetically pleasing setting even if it didn't feel that way at first.
  - andromaton 3y ago
    I felt this calmness in Iceland and in bush country in Alaska in December.
- opportune 3y ago
  IME it’s not just the quiet and calmness. There’s few children and families (mostly elderly folks), what few people there are mostly keep to themselves and won’t initiate conversation with you, and abandoned places are left to degrade without being vandalized or littered with trash. There are roads and shrines that are still maintained but most likely empty when you visit. There’s nothing, and very little even “regular abandoned stuff” like broken glass or boarded up windows, to make you feel on-edge or unsafe.
resolutebat 3y ago
There's an amazing (and depressing) blog called Spike Japan that's all about this aesthetic, with a special focus on the Bubble of the 80s and the detritus it left behind: https://spikejapan.wordpress.com/ https://spikejapan.wordpress.com/
- Macha 3y ago
  Sadly it seems a lot of the images are gone?
- qsi 3y ago
  Ah, I remember reading Spike Japan! It has some pretty amazing writing but hasn't been updated since 2014. Still worth a read if you're interested in this sort of thing. Also makes me wonder how things have changed since then.
ChatGTP 3y ago
It’s nice to see nature taking things back and making something beautiful again…forest. In a way an abandoned village is just another type of zen garden…
throwawaylinux 3y ago
I find it wonderful that they are learning to live with a nice successful society that is not in a state of constant exponential growth, and they've resisted doomers and deranged neoliberal calls to keep massively expanding population. Truly a leader in sustainability, a shining beacon to the world for what is actually possible as opposed to what "experts" (aka shills for billionaires) claim to be the case.
- tacker2000 3y ago
  I think youre are romanticizing this far too much here. They have a massively ageing population, which is the true problem. In 2060, over 40% of the population will be pensioners requiring payouts, according to the japanese health ministry. And yes, they have low birth rates and no population growth (whether via immigration or otherwise). This is actually going to bite them at some point.
  - throwawaylinux 3y ago
    I'm not "romanticizing" anything. I think you are just repeating talking points that have never really been challenged and made to stand up to scrutiny. > They have a massively ageing population, which is the true problem. The true problem is exponential growth resulting in exponential destruction of the environment, no matter how much you fiddle with the factors. People act like if we (by some unlikely miracle) get a handle on CO2 emissions that it will all be smooth sailing from then on. The sad reality is that pollution, destruction of species and habitat, and depletion of non-renewable resources, until now has been driven almost entirely by factors other than climate change. > In 2060, over 40% of the population will be pensioners requiring payouts, according to the japanese health ministry. That sounds good, good thing they have been transitioning to a sustainable society and economy rather than stacking the pyramid ever higher to delay the inevitable. You know global population is expected to level by that time then fall, right? > And yes, they have low birth rates and no population growth (whether via immigration or otherwise). This is actually going to bite them at some point. This is what the pyramid schemers (the "experts", the banks, the billionaires, the neolibs) have been crying wolf about for decades. Sure it isn't simple, but they are managing it. And it will bite everybody pretty soon. What would be nice is if, when it bites, we haven't driven societies and the environment to the absolute limit into a brick wall before that, but instead let populations in highly consuming countries naturally peak and decline, and manage that gracefully.
opportune 3y ago
I think the word “ennui” was almost invented to describe rural Japan. There is a mesmerizing, eerily graceful sense of decline. In a lot of other rural places on Earth, even if they are in poverty, there is usually a decent amount of activity even if some buildings are abandoned. There are families (often very large ones with many kids), drunk hooligans, outgoing salt of the earth types. Rural Japan in contrast is quiet, mostly elderly, and more culturally “refined” at least on its face. And if you go wandering around, even as a very conspicuous foreigner, because of the language barrier and general cultural introversion, the few people you do see will mostly politely ignore you or not initiate conversation. Similarly while buildings may be abandoned and overgrown with plants there is usually very little trash (not counting what was simply left there, think more like plastic bags and empty beer bottles from teens hanging out) and no graffiti. Other places that may be obviously in decline have evidence of a future and continued habitation, even if bleak, from young people vandalizing abandoned places, families going about their day, and confused middle aged folks trying to ask why you are even visiting their place and if you’re lost. In rural Japan, especially if you don’t speak Japanese, it’s more like you are a ghost wandering around a place resigned to evaporate, whose remaining inhabitants stoically continue on their peaceful day to day.
- tass 3y ago
  Greece’s countryside is a little like this. Villages with less than 10 full time residents, collapsing buildings, overgrown vegetation and roaming animals.
  - jamiek88 3y ago
    Parts of southern and central Spain too.
    - lost_tourist 3y ago
      USA as well, as more people move to be in or near urban areas.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
Llamamoe 3y ago
As a person who adores abandoned places and nature reclaiming them, god I wanna go there so much.
dirtyid 3y ago
>but it sticks with you Appreciate the aesthetics vs rust belt and cottage country.

andromaton 3y ago

Could it be the quiet and calmness?

rgrieselhuber 3y ago
It reminds me of the forest passage concept described by Ernst Jünger. He was writing about sovereignty within one's own consciousness and I'm not referencing this particular context in this case (although they probably are related) but more generally how "the hinterlands" provide a place away from the beam of focus that a society maintains. Almost by definition these places feel forgotten but once you get over the unnerving sense of separation and isolation from everything, your imagination seems to recover some of its creativity. That creativity then fills in the gaps visually to create an aesthetically pleasing setting even if it didn't feel that way at first.
- andromaton 3y ago
  I felt this calmness in Iceland and in bush country in Alaska in December.
opportune 3y ago
IME it’s not just the quiet and calmness. There’s few children and families (mostly elderly folks), what few people there are mostly keep to themselves and won’t initiate conversation with you, and abandoned places are left to degrade without being vandalized or littered with trash. There are roads and shrines that are still maintained but most likely empty when you visit. There’s nothing, and very little even “regular abandoned stuff” like broken glass or boarded up windows, to make you feel on-edge or unsafe.

resolutebat 3y ago

There's an amazing (and depressing) blog called Spike Japan that's all about this aesthetic, with a special focus on the Bubble of the 80s and the detritus it left behind: https://spikejapan.wordpress.com/ https://spikejapan.wordpress.com/

Macha 3y ago
Sadly it seems a lot of the images are gone?
qsi 3y ago
Ah, I remember reading Spike Japan! It has some pretty amazing writing but hasn't been updated since 2014. Still worth a read if you're interested in this sort of thing. Also makes me wonder how things have changed since then.

ChatGTP 3y ago

It’s nice to see nature taking things back and making something beautiful again…forest. In a way an abandoned village is just another type of zen garden…

throwawaylinux 3y ago

I find it wonderful that they are learning to live with a nice successful society that is not in a state of constant exponential growth, and they've resisted doomers and deranged neoliberal calls to keep massively expanding population. Truly a leader in sustainability, a shining beacon to the world for what is actually possible as opposed to what "experts" (aka shills for billionaires) claim to be the case.

tacker2000 3y ago
I think youre are romanticizing this far too much here. They have a massively ageing population, which is the true problem. In 2060, over 40% of the population will be pensioners requiring payouts, according to the japanese health ministry. And yes, they have low birth rates and no population growth (whether via immigration or otherwise). This is actually going to bite them at some point.
- throwawaylinux 3y ago
  I'm not "romanticizing" anything. I think you are just repeating talking points that have never really been challenged and made to stand up to scrutiny. > They have a massively ageing population, which is the true problem. The true problem is exponential growth resulting in exponential destruction of the environment, no matter how much you fiddle with the factors. People act like if we (by some unlikely miracle) get a handle on CO2 emissions that it will all be smooth sailing from then on. The sad reality is that pollution, destruction of species and habitat, and depletion of non-renewable resources, until now has been driven almost entirely by factors other than climate change. > In 2060, over 40% of the population will be pensioners requiring payouts, according to the japanese health ministry. That sounds good, good thing they have been transitioning to a sustainable society and economy rather than stacking the pyramid ever higher to delay the inevitable. You know global population is expected to level by that time then fall, right? > And yes, they have low birth rates and no population growth (whether via immigration or otherwise). This is actually going to bite them at some point. This is what the pyramid schemers (the "experts", the banks, the billionaires, the neolibs) have been crying wolf about for decades. Sure it isn't simple, but they are managing it. And it will bite everybody pretty soon. What would be nice is if, when it bites, we haven't driven societies and the environment to the absolute limit into a brick wall before that, but instead let populations in highly consuming countries naturally peak and decline, and manage that gracefully.

opportune 3y ago

I think the word “ennui” was almost invented to describe rural Japan. There is a mesmerizing, eerily graceful sense of decline. In a lot of other rural places on Earth, even if they are in poverty, there is usually a decent amount of activity even if some buildings are abandoned. There are families (often very large ones with many kids), drunk hooligans, outgoing salt of the earth types. Rural Japan in contrast is quiet, mostly elderly, and more culturally “refined” at least on its face. And if you go wandering around, even as a very conspicuous foreigner, because of the language barrier and general cultural introversion, the few people you do see will mostly politely ignore you or not initiate conversation. Similarly while buildings may be abandoned and overgrown with plants there is usually very little trash (not counting what was simply left there, think more like plastic bags and empty beer bottles from teens hanging out) and no graffiti. Other places that may be obviously in decline have evidence of a future and continued habitation, even if bleak, from young people vandalizing abandoned places, families going about their day, and confused middle aged folks trying to ask why you are even visiting their place and if you’re lost. In rural Japan, especially if you don’t speak Japanese, it’s more like you are a ghost wandering around a place resigned to evaporate, whose remaining inhabitants stoically continue on their peaceful day to day.

tass 3y ago
Greece’s countryside is a little like this. Villages with less than 10 full time residents, collapsing buildings, overgrown vegetation and roaming animals.
- jamiek88 3y ago
  Parts of southern and central Spain too.
  - lost_tourist 3y ago
    USA as well, as more people move to be in or near urban areas.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

Llamamoe 3y ago

As a person who adores abandoned places and nature reclaiming them, god I wanna go there so much.

dirtyid 3y ago

>but it sticks with you Appreciate the aesthetics vs rust belt and cottage country.