The Snowy, Fairytale Kingdom that dreams are made of...
A stunning, fairytale themed amusement park has been left vacant to rot on the snowy island of Hokkaido, Japan since 2007.
We were planning a Japanese holiday for November & December last year. I couldn’t miss the opportunity to plan a quick stopover in Hokkaido to visit this absolute beauty. I’m terribly impatient and obsessive and I KNEW I would be too excited about this amusement park to concentrate (or enjoy) the rest of my holiday unless I went there first thing. So first thing is what we did.
We touched down in Sapporo, picked up our hire car and drove a couple of hours out to the nearest town. On the way we came across this lil beauty, read about it here. Anyway, this was the first time my partner or I had driven overseas, and it happened to be getting dark, and snowing!
We arrived in the town and were greeted by the thickest and most magical fog I had ever seen, which made the beginning of the holiday absolutely incredible, we were in such awe of this foreign city.
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
The following morning we woke up, stocked up on snacks at the nearest Family Mart (anyone who has been to Japan will know how great their convenience stores are!) and drove straight out there. It had been snowing overnight and the ground remained snowy, although the sun was warm. It was the perfect day to tick this location off my bucket list.
We saw a castle-like structure in the distance as we approached it. There was a fairly long dirt driveway that was our only path in. Nowhere to park on the roadside, we drove in. Paul and I awkwardly waved to an old farmer who’s property bordered on this muddy driveway, fingers crossed that he would mind his own business. We parked behind a large dirt mound so our hire car couldn’t be seen from the road.
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
I leapt out of the car, i’d never been so excited in my life! Trudged through the snow and tried to work out which way to head first. To our right was a grand old hotel, and to the left was the entry to the rides. We headed for the hotel as we needed as much light as possible. It looked as-though the doors had been locked up securely and we tried the first one with no luck. I began to worry i’d travelled across the world to not even make it in. We headed around to the main hotel entrance, and saw the doors to the side wings were inviting us in!
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
The walls were damp and mouldy. It was breathtaking. It was so grand inside, I couldn’t believe it had been left to rot like this. We continued making our way through the maze of hallways and rooms, until we found what I came for.
The ballroom.
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
I’ve never seen something so incredible. I felt like I was in a movie. It did not seem real, was I dreaming? The details were so intricate. The paintings, the marble, the craftsmanship was so beautiful, it was such a shame that it had all been left behind. So much work had been put in to making such a spectacular space. I would have loved to see it before any real damage had occurred.
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
After obsessing over that room for way too long, we decided we had better head out to the amusement park side! I could have spent an entire day just inside the massive hotel, but we had to spend our time wisely and make sure we saw everything before dark. We made our way though the main area of the hotel and out into the fresh air.
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
The walk to the rides was rather overgrown, and snowy. My sneakers were soaked and my feet were freezing but I didn’t care one bit. I could see the top of the ferris wheel in the distance and that was more than enough motivation to stomp through the mushy ground.
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
The rides were more fun to climb around on when they were out of use! No expensive tickets, no rules, and best of all, no other people! There were even more buildings, like a little European village, at the main area near the rides. Inside they had restaurants, a gift shop, a gallery, even an arcade still full of old games.
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
Hokkaido, Japan - @chrissygensch
I was too busy taking in my surroundings to concentrate on taking photos of everything. I didn’t get photos inside the little cafes, restaurants and stores, or the train, boat ride & the rollercoaster. But sometimes it is better to enjoy the experience than focus too hard on documenting it.
I think I could have stayed here forever. I was considering moving into one of the less mouldy hotel rooms. But Paul reminded me that we had to get going by dark, get a good nights sleep and set off back to Sapporo for the next leg of our adventure.