To the Abandoned - Ruins Hunting in Ueno [ Panasonic GX7 ]

Sometimes you set off in search of something specific, but other times that something finds you instead.




A construction worker stands watch in silence over road work, in the back streets near Ueno Station, one of my frequent haunts.




Wander around Ueno enough and you can find all kinds of cool stuff. The whole area east of the station all the way to the river and Asakusa, is pocketed with neat little shops like this yakiniku restaurant. But there are also a lot of cool, older buildings to be found as well.




I was looking for a burrito stand I'd been to a few times (yes, they exist in Japan if you look hard enough), but couldn't find it, and so did a search for ruins on the web in Japanese and found there are several cool spots to see, and one of them was just a few blocks from where I was then, if my bearings were right.

So I went back down a side street behind the main road, then off to another and another, and found something that looked promising on the corner near a local government office.




Peering over the top of a barricade you could just see what looked like an early Showa concrete school or city hall, and after following the fenced off perimeter I got to an opening. Looks like while the building itself may or may not be in use, someone's using the grounds for parking.




Follow the wall for a while longer and you get to the end... or do you? It's hard to really get a clear view so I'm honestly not sure if this is all one structure or several. You can also kinda peek into windows and there's definitely a bunch of old boxes inside, but I have no idea if that means people still go in or not.




Walking around the corner I found this cool structure here. I think it's connected but again, it's hard to say.




To the left and right are businesses. In the center is this little section of building. If I was a betting man I'd guess it was a school and here is a side entrance. But it could be an old apartment or almost anything.




It's hard to really tell what this was. Maybe a hospital, now that I look at it again.




God, what a great vine-covered wall there. It makes a beautiful contrast with the shiny new structure towering above.




Some ruins you find have a feeling of lost energy, like there was something (maybe even something great), and while it's now gone you can sort of feel tinges of the energy around. Others have a feel of menace and loss. This one was different; it felt in a strange way almost inviting.

***




On the way back to the station there's a line of bike shops, used stores, and cool little old places like this liquor store.

***

Any city of a significant age and size is sure to have plenty of hidden corners. I've explored a lot of places, but by far the one I've ventured into the alley off from the street more than anywhere else has to be Tokyo. Go back to the same place a hundred times and you'll still find something new if you look right, or even look at the same things from a different angle.




All of these pictures were taken with the micro four thirds Panasonic GX7, using the 14mm F2.5 pancake lens. For more pictures, check out my Flickr Photostream, or if you want to see some more ruins trekking, check out my recent posts: Tokyo Ruins Hunt - Down a Side Street (in Ebisu) or Abiko Back Streets, or the motherload of Japanese haikyo - Ruins Trek - to the Nakagusuku Kogen Hotel.