Japan is incredibly unique in many ways, but one very special part about this country is the honor and respect in their culture, which leads to a basically complete lack of theft. Even after a place gets abandoned, somehow there is no looting, no graffiti, and most things are left completely intact. Seven years ago, in our very first trip to Japan, we explored an abandoned theme park the size of a Disneyland with everything left totally untouched. This park, unfortunately for how amazingly preserved it was, has since then been demolished. But in our third story of our four-part series from Japan this year, having first airdropped an airplane ticket to a stranger to come here, trained with real sumo rikishis, and finally having Amar join us on our last mystery adventure, there was a part of me that still had a thirst for some urban exploration in this country. We are making our way towards the ferry taking us to Ikeshima Island. Three minutes to go. Okay, we found the ship. There's literally nobody here. It feels like we're going to Shutter Island. We almost missed it. Look, we just got here. An itch I needed to scratch, a curiosity to find out what other monuments, abandoned cities are left frozen in time. We're about to step onto Japan's largest abandoned island, a place that used to be the home of 10,000 people, now only about below 50, 60 people. As the last restaurant and last hotel are shutting down permanently, we are likely going to be the last guests to come visit this island. So I want to take you with us on this experience as we explore two of the most unique and well-preserved spectacular places in the whole country. Arigato. It's just bizarre to look around and like buildings don't look that destroyed, but basically every building is abandoned. This is a hotel that told us to bring food and water. It told us bring your own water. Konnichiwa. Okay, $20 for a room here. It's not bad. Welcome to our humble abode. Oh my God. Okay, so here's your bed, sir. As we check into the only hotel on the 99% abandoned island of Ikeshima, we had a lot of questions. Why did many people leave this island? The mine has closed. The mine has closed, yeah. To understand how an entirely developed city on an island can suddenly become deserted, we naturally have to wind back our clock 70 years. Like the story has gone for many towns in remote parts of the world, in 1952, a mining company acquired the land on the small island off the coast of Nagasaki. They began their coal mining operation and eventually built an entire community on the island, including apartment buildings, restaurants, and a school to accommodate the thousands of workers who were brought in to work in the mines. At its height, Ikeshima's population reached around 8,000 to 10,000 people. The mine continued to be in operation until 2001, when rising labor costs and coal becoming less sought after as an energy source forced its closure. Since then, the island's large population dwindled as all of the miners and their families eventually left the island, leaving behind the shell of a once thriving town that we were now about to explore. Alright, let our 24 to 36 hour exploration of this island begin. Do you guys see that? There's a traffic light that's green up there. These lights are still on. Do you see that? Okay, I'll press the button and see. Let me see. Okay. It changed. It's red now. That's weird, man. New school, but the lights are still here. This main street, building, high building. Wow. Over there? Amazing. Thank you. I love that you're abandoned place seekers just like us. Ah, come on. This place is gigantic. There is so much area to cover. We're not even going to cover a small fraction of this. I honestly can't tell you what I'm looking for in these places, but there's a feeling, a unique feeling that I've only found in abandoned places. A ghostly emptiness. A quiet tension. An uneasy atmosphere in a place we'd expect to have life. Maybe it's the same reason why people watch horror films. To experience fears we all deeply have from a distance. I can't tell you for sure, but all I can tell you is that I did not regret insisting on coming back for another one in Japan. Konnichiwa. Okay, first step into an abandoned house in Japan. Japan. Oh my god. Dude. Ancient f***ing house. There's so much of it. Oh my god. Boys, it's like 4,000 DVDs over here. You could open it. I think that's a cat. These cats are freaking me out, man. Yeah, man. Mangas. Dude, it's more p***y. Is this p***y? But this is not p***y. This is just p***y. Yeah, it's p***y. It's manga p***y. We're literally the only ones. These used to be people's addresses. Look at this. A newspaper. 2002. That's 21 years ago. 21 years ago. Wow, that's insane. So imagine this post has been here for 21 years and no one opened it. All of the homes pretty much look like this at this point. They're just destroyed by the wind and rain. Oh my god. Look at that view. I know, dude. Wow. Rooftop access. We're on a rooftop on an abandoned island. It's a matter of time. This whole building is going to be overtaken by nature. Yeah. In a strange way, seeing nature claim back the land that once belonged to it really makes me think that in the midst of the problems we're facing as a planet and human species that ultimately our greatest risk is our own demise. Nature, over time, will eventually restore its original harmony. There's a song playing. Is it from his apartment or is it from... This is so f***ing creepy. Legitimately, we heard somebody playing piano close by. Like, it was close enough to hear it. And it sounded like it was coming from here. If it's anyone playing piano, you can come out now. Gosh, I got chills from that note. That's a car parked there. It's like a car. What is that car doing there? Wow, dude. Dude, there is one light on in this entire abandoned building. Somebody's still living in that apartment. The whole rest of the building is abandoned and falling apart. It's also confusing because a very small amount of people still live here. There's like a bus still circulating the island. How weird is that? I'm trying to make a phone call. There's a phone booth in the middle of this. The unique part is that it's 99% abandoned. But there are some lights on in some buildings and it makes it so much weirder. That's my bed. Hey, bro. I thought I could sleep in here because I saw there was space. Dude, we're paying for two separate rooms. We are in an abandoned ghost town. And I heard people are in town today and I don't know if it's a ghost or not. So, I just want to sleep here. We've already been sharing a room for so long. Yeah, let's go sleep over. Come in, bro. Yeah, sleeping in the same thing. Dude, he just f***ing brought his mattress. Safe space. Hello. As you can tell, I'm no longer in an abandoned village in Japan. I'm currently in my apartment here in Paris. And I just wanted to say that I too have felt abandoned by many things in my life. My elementary school crush, Celine. My childhood pet fish, Robert. My beautiful childhood red cruiser bike that got stolen one summer. But most importantly, by my favorite brands to online shop from as they constantly raise their prices. But recently, I found a way to get back to the golden age of online shopping and save money. With the number one online saving sidekick, PayPal Honey, who also happens to be the sponsor of today's video. Honey automatically searches for internet discount codes so that you don't have to. For example, before this trip to Japan, I needed a new sleeping eye mask for the long flight. So when I found this Earth Therapeutics sleeping eye mask, I ended up saving big with the 11 coupons that Honey offered with the click of a button. And the best part about all of this is that it's absolutely free. So please go to joinhoney.com slash yestheory. It will support them, which will support us. And now, back to our story. There was still so much more for us to understand, as we'd heard rumors of the mythical few people who still lived here. What the f*** was that? That's so strange that they still play it echoing in this empty place. What the f*** is the point? Weirdest of all was that any time we try to interact with a stranger, they would ignore us and rush away. Can I ask you a question? I think that was a clear no. But after seeing some movement inside the school, we decided to approach the entrance to see if we could talk to anyone. Do you live at Ikejima? Yeah, we're teachers here. Teachers? Yeah, we make videos on YouTube. YouTube? We have a preschool here. Could we come in for maybe five minutes and just ask some questions and learn more about your school? That would be amazing. And somehow, it took us almost 24 hours on the island to realize that by some miracle, a school of three students and a ten-person staff was still holding on. So you've lived here for five years? Yes. And why did you come here? The school changed. There used to be about 8,000 people here. It's really hard for us because just four teachers. Each teacher has two or three subjects. But for students, it's okay because only him or her. So they get a lot of help. Thank you for taking time here. How old are you? Eight. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Bye-bye. From strangers to friends. Are you a teacher here at school? Yes, elementary school. Only me. How does it feel to live at Ikeshima Island? Good. Many big fish I can catch. That's great. Okay, I've got to go. Bye-bye, man. The teachers and staff here are really nice. Okay, we're going to island number two. The island we're heading to next holds a legendary status in the urban explorer world. The island looks beautiful. The Hachijo Royal Hotel, featured in films and built on an island for a long time promoted as the Hawaii of Japan. To understand its demise, it's important to remember that Japan was for a long time closed off to the outside world. Look who drove up here, man. I love this car, dude. There goes the plane we came with. Do you see it? That's the only plane on the island. So we're stuck here now until tomorrow. Even after World War II, authorities still made it very difficult for its population to travel internationally. Over time, as the country recovered from World War II and its economy started growing again, this place just a few hours from Tokyo became a visitor paradise. Are we sure that we can enter? I read somewhere that someone had been stopped when they were trying to enter. Are you serious? Yeah. Let's just go and let's do a scouting mission. And if we get arrested, we just say it was Stefan's idea and we're here hostage. As Japan modernized, became more connected to the global economy and passports were issued more freely, however, the interests of its people turned towards international tourism over local. In 2006, after decades of slow decline, this hotel was forced to close up shop. And naturally, as Japanese people do, left everything where it was. Nature has now soon had two decades to swallow this once beautiful hotel and we're here to find what's left of it. Okay, I mean this hotel, this island is really small. It should just be down here. That's it. That's it. Oh my god. Are you kidding me? Drive around it and see. Just this itself is crazy. There was no sign, nothing. There was no gate. There was no, there was no like tape, you know, saying like keep out. Dude. This is the actual entrance. Is that a car? Oh. No, it's a broken down car. It's like destroyed. Wow, Hachijo Oriental Resort. It's like a van that used to transport people. Dude, park here. Oh my gosh. The door is just open. Are you scared? Okay, a little bit. It's just massive and it looks like The Shining. And that's a horror movie. Yeah. Gosh, this is one of the weirdest things I've ever done in my life. Look at this. That's easier probably. Let's go. This place looks so preserved. Look at the marble entrance. This was like a really beautiful expensive building. Water dripping through that ceiling and the whole, this floor looks cracked. So we just have to be careful. What are you hearing? It sounds like someone. There's like footsteps downstairs. I'm getting chills on my body. What did you find? There's like a bar. Like backdoor bar area. There's really nice lounge chairs. Do you see that? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Once upon a time people have like having dinners there and conversations. And not anymore. It's just very strange. You don't need to whisper. Don't worry, you won't upset the ghosts. Oh my God, look at that. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Dude, I swear it sounded like somebody was right behind me. I don't get triggered easily like this. I've been to a lot of abandoned places. It sounded like somebody was there. Hello? Okay, that's very scary. What the f**k is that? I think somebody's here. Okay, don't walk by yourself, Corey. Can we go, please? Yeah, I'm done now. That was so freaky there. That was so freaky. Oh my God. What a spot for a pool table. Well, it was good to take a break because that hallway was so freaky, man. Yeah, there's something in there. A hundred percent. Our abandoned royal hotel just becomes to a ghost town experience. What? There's a fridge filled with unopened beers. Even the employees on the last day didn't think, I'm going to take this case home. I just left it here. Are you saying that you would have taken the beer? No, never. It's the children's playground area. Oh my God. This might be the entrance to the spa. Oh. Yeah, man. Just be very careful. The floor looks like it's collapsing. Yep, it's collapsing. That's funny. Somebody put the make up the room sign on it. I don't think I've ever seen an abandoned place this well preserved. This is crazy. Nothing looks moved or changed here. The shoes are still in place. The remote is right in front of the TV. The little pillows are around. It really feels like nothing has been moved since the last day somebody lived here. The contrast between rooms and how preserved they are is crazy. On this side, it looks like you just got to clean it up and it could be ready for use. And then just across, look at this. This must have been one of the more expensive rooms. There's like a lot of space, living room, multiple beds. Yeah, this is a view of the ocean right here. Look guys, it's just falling apart. The rain is falling down. Wow, the entire freaking roof has fallen in here. So it should be... Okay, I need to back out a little bit. A little bit. Undeveloped. There's 17 pictures left. But that means there's about 12, 13 that have been saved. Dude, imagine developing that. Should we? It's crazy. Let's bring this with us and develop it and see if there's some old pictures of people hanging out. Wow, that's crazy. Wow. That's crazy. Just plants taking over. What? What? Just shows you how powerful it is. Water comes, creates vegetation, which just eats the walls up. The rooms that have no water look almost intact. The rooms where just a little bit of water is trickling through, boom. The roof is totally missing. I mean, this looks like out of a video game. Jesus Christ, that's scary. Oh my. Yeah, it feels like that's going to fall apart. Save the first. Just look at these TVs. Especially for the time, this was expensive equipment to just leave behind. Yeah, man. You alright? Yeah, man. Yeah, it's just a lot of impressions to take in. It's fun and exciting to explore these places, but it's also heartbreaking. That people have been here, people have been having events, and now it's just left. In this room, because it's the event room, probably a lot of fun things happened in here. And now it's so empty and broken windows and all. This is also part of life. You have to try things. Sometimes it doesn't succeed as well. Because it was some dreamer or entrepreneur or whatever behind this. And obviously it didn't work out. Yeah, I'll definitely remember this place for the rest of my life, that's for sure. Same here, man. Same here. This must be like a suite. Wow. It's massive. Wow. Wow. Wow. As our four-day urban exploration of some of Japan's most impressive forgotten places comes to an end, we silently pondered and admired this mesmerizing structure soon to be fully swallowed back by nature. To be continued...
