In the town where I was born and raised, there is a hotel that was built about 30 years ago on a large plot of land and with a large budget. However, it was shut down near completion due to the bursting of the bubble economy, and it has remained intact ever since.
Now managed by a film commission, the hotel is used as a location for music videos and films. I have shot several videos there. There is a golf course and a horseback riding club in the resort, both of which are in operation.
Construction of the hotel stopped the year I was born, so I had heard about it since childhood but had never seen the buildings. I first visited the hotel three summers ago. I contacted the management and was permitted to scout locations while visiting my family in my hometown. I borrowed my father's car and drove to the site by myself.
As I entered the main gate, I was surprised by how vast the golf course was, stretching out on both sides of the road. The hotel was located at the far end of the property, about a 30-minute walk from the main gate. I met the person in charge, who guided me through the atrium, corridors, guest rooms, pool, and restaurants one by one. With my GR hanging from my wrist, I took pictures of whatever caught my eye.
I saw half-painted walls, masking tape that had not been removed, tiles with only the vertical axis attached, sofas still wrapped in plastic, guest rooms with only a side table, a refrigerator with a date written on it, and a pipe organ still in its container. Everywhere I looked, there were signs that the work was left to resume the next day.
I have visited some old, closed hotels and so-called abandoned buildings before, but this place is exceptional. The main reason for this may be that it has been unused for many years. It's similar to dead stock in the secondhand clothing industry. Although the rooms have been kept unused, there is dust, and the fixtures have deteriorated over the past 30 years. At the same time, perhaps because there are traces that they were used for filming, there remains the impression that people have been here before. I was fascinated by this unique atmosphere, which is hard to describe.
I wonder if the town would have become like Nasu or Hakone if the resort had opened as planned. The town's overall negative feeling might have been a little different then. I love this town, including its unfortunate impression, and I can't help but dream of doing something with this hotel at the center. I would like to continue visiting this place, taking photographs, and eventually compiling them.
Kazuhei Kimura
Born in 1993 in Iwaki, Fukushima. Lives and works in Tokyo. While working in the fields of fashion, film and advertising, he continues to create works that move back and forth between his childhood experiences and his present life. Won the Judges Encouragement Prize (selected by Nozomi Himeno) at the 19th Photography 1_WALL and the Grand Prix at IMA next #6 ‘Black&White'. Major solo exhibitions include 'Ishi to momo (Counterpoint)' (Roll) in 2023 and 'Atarashii mado (The Other Side of the Window)' (Book and Sons) in 2020. Major photobooks include 'Sodemaku' and 'Todai' (both aptp) and 'Atarashii mado (The Other Side of the Window)' (Akaakasha).
Kazuhei Kimura (@kazuheikimura)
