This deserted two storey house stood a short distance from the Hotel Suzukigaike. You can see it in one of the photographs that I took from the bar above the lobby.

The front path was heavily overgrown, but I forced my way through and found the door wide open. It was a decent sized house by Japanese standards, and would once have been a comfortable home, but it was a sorry sight when I visited; the roof was leaking in places, and rainwater was causing extensive decay.

Most of the things that you'd expect to find in a residence were still there, although a lot of the drawers and cupboards were empty and had been left open. I can only guess at the fate of the occupants - did they die, or go somewhere else, taking only their most essential personal effects?

Someone had upended a low table in the living room, and I took the liberty of righting it.

This Japanese doll was the most poignant thing that I saw in the house. It looks like it was once a treasured possession, but when the house was abandoned nobody even bothered to take it. I never remove anything from the places that I explore, so after taking these photographs I closed the case again and left it to its fate. It will probably stand forlornly for years inside the abandoned room, before the rotting frame eventually gives way and the house collapses on top of it.

The roof above the upper storey was apparently still sound, so the upstairs rooms were dry and in pretty good condition.