My book is finally out in most bookstores and on Amazon! Filled with images of Japans beautiful modern ruins, these visual fragments document what is now an erased moment in the process of this fascinating countries urban evolution. All culturally significant, each photograph is a platform where the observer can reflect upon Japans hidden journey from permanence to disposability, composition to decomposition and construction to deconstruction. With mazes of expressways pushi

A hike to a tiny abandoned Japanese mountain village called Irorijyuku. It was discarded after an earthquake in 2013 with its buildings deemed as unliveable, so nobody returned. Its unaccessible due to blocked off roads and heavy snow fall so we hiked up the mountain with snow shoes to check it out. The buiildings are almost buried completely in snow. #abandoned #abandonedjapan #shanethoms #haikyo

This crumbling hospital was located on one of the surrounding islands off the coast of Hiroshima. Built seemingly 100 years ago and covered in vines and shrubs, it was a beautiful site. Not much was inside apart from rubbish and used white goods from the neighbouring houses. #ShaneThoms #abandonedjapan #haikyo #Abandoned

Gunkanjima sits about 15 kilometers south of Nagasaki city. Initially opened in 1887, this small island operated as a coalmine base which also housed its many miners and families. Mitsubishi (its last owner) closed the facility permanently in 1974 along with a number of other coal mining plants across Japan. For forty years, this concrete island and its many buildings have been left to decay…and in place of what was once a thriving island mining town is now an enchantingly

Abandoned since 2000 and something??....not sure about exact times, but it was a nice find. Everything still in its place. Nice operating theatre and dental ward. Nagasaki Prefecture. #ShaneThoms #abandonedjapan #Haikyo #abandoned

Love hotels are dotted all over Japan. They operate as short stay establishments where couples can fool around in the privacy of an intimate space for a few hours, or maybe an entire night. Most tend to adopt a fun theme to attract prospective punters (such as jungle, medieval, Moroccan or American Colonial etc) and a lot of effort is put into their interior and exterior style. These places are extremely popular all over Japan and get an abundance of business. Once a popular

Abandoned theme parks are always fun to check out (more so than visiting active theme parks). Built in 1975 and with a North American western colonial theme, its doors were closed forever in 2007 (due to lack of public interest). It now sits abandoned, derelict and rotting away on the edge of a small rural town. I reached the park in the early afternoon after a long drive (I was actually on my way to an abandoned hotel in the mountains and sort of stumbled across this place)

Abandoned amusement park - Japan CLICK HERE FOR PICS AND STORY #abandoned #abandonedjapan #haikyo #shanethoms #photo

Explored in February 2014, this semi abandoned town has a nice derelict hospital. Filled with operating theatres, waiting rooms and consulting suites, it was a great place to take some snaps. #abandoned #abandonedjapan #haikyo #shanethoms

Another cooling tower!!. It was pissing down with rain and freezing on the day we went here. We got a train to the town in which this awesome place was located. We walked for about 45 minutes from the station to our destination and, after checking that the coast was clear, climbed a metal ladder and snuck inside. The interior was beautiful!!..... and it was awesome to be inside another cooling tower. This one was interesting because of the little house/shed thing plonked