If you spend enough time traveling in Japan, you’ll occasionally stumble upon relic landmarks of a bygone era given a different type of aesthetic appeal when they’ve become overrun by nature, such as mysterious convenience store ruins that look like they could be a Studio Ghibli castle. Many of these are referred to as “haikyo”–which is the Japanese word for “ruins”, but refers to both the physical locations of abandoned places and the exploration of them.
Japanese Twitter account Domin no Hito (@North_ern2) focuses on the photography of such mysterious landscapes and abandoned areas, whether they be places of folklore, or schools, hospitals, hotsprings, or even remote islands. They’ve recently stumbled upon a sight that is at once both eerie, charming, and definitely nostalgic for gamers.
A Game Boy post box in the mountains of Japan!
In a Twitter post below, Domin no Hito writes that the Game Boy model post box was originally a promotional item Nintendo distributed to local video game stores long ago, but has since been acquired and repurposed as a nearby resident’s mailbox. With the Game Boy no longer being an in-use gaming system, it looks mysteriously at home nestled in the mountains of Kagawa prefecture on the island of Shikoku.
・山中のゲームボーイポスト
四国は香川県、グーグルマップのストリートビューすらない山奥の道沿いにひっそり佇む、デカいゲームボーイ型のポスト。このゲームボーイは昔、任天堂がゲーム店へ販促物として配ったもので、近くの民家の郵便受けとして再利用されているようだった。#セルフ四国鎮守祭 pic.twitter.com/qhpQuJxvJt
— 道民の人＠廃醫院写真集boothメロブ等通販中 (@North_ern2) August 17, 2020
数年前にこの場所を発見した人の写真で見て以来、自分が持てる全ての四国情報と土地勘を頼りに「たぶんここ…」とあたりをつけて向かった先で、本当にあった時は相当感動した。同時に「ストリートビューは革命だったんだな」という想いを新たにした。四国はなんとも奥が深い…。 pic.twitter.com/JSvFP9c8G7
— 道民の人＠廃醫院写真集boothメロブ等通販中 (@North_ern2) August 17, 2020
For more awesome haikyo related photography, be sure to follow Domin no Hito (@North_ern2) on Twitter, and if you’re in Japan, check out their photo books on Booth.
Article Source: Grapee.Jp