Abandoned Amusement Parks in Asia

"QUANTUM SHOT" #523
Link - by A. Abrams

Spirited Away, or Spirited for Good?

They may be closed, but they're still a lot of fun! For a new installment in our popular "Abandoned Amusement Parks" series we look at four beautiful, enchanting and rusting away parks in Asia - South Korea, China, Laos and Japan.

We've already covered a couple of parks close to Seoul. Now we look at more haunting grounds (hotbeds of gladness and joy only a few years ago), based on research by Jon Dunbar with the exclusive permission of the photographers included here.

(image credit: Olivier Malosse)

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1. JAPAN

French urban explorer Olivier Malosse visited the once-famous "Koga Family Land" Park in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It seems to be completely swallowed by a lush forest, its past gloriously illustrated in children's drawings, which now hang, fading, from the peeling walls - an echo of "family fun", silenced:

Sad toys hang around - and a bunch of ferocious rabbits haunts the premises:

Spectacularly overgrown roller coaster - and "Okutama Ropeway" still offers great view from the cabins:

(images copyright and courtesy Olivier Malosse)

Rust in the Mist - "Takakanonuma Greenland" Park

Another highly evocative location is actually quite famous among urban explorers - the images are well-known, but still worth seeing. Spiral is an intrepid Japanese explorer who's interested in all sorts of wild abandoned places, not just parks - but one look at this page and you'll be hooked to click on every link there, even though they're all in Japanese.

Here is a misty ride 250km north of Tokyo (for those who want coordinates - 37°49'02.16"N 140°33'05.78"E):

(images credit: Spiral)

Would you trust these rusty rails with another ride? Maybe, if you're in a 1980s horror movie:

(image credit: JensofJapan, via)

These pictures take my pick as the creepiest of the bunch:

Passengers in stasis: frozen in time, place and who knows what else -

(images credit: Spiral)

Japan has a ton of abandoned parks; here is a Wikipedia page that lists parks there, as well as in other parts of the world - Click Here

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2. CHINA

Many parks in China were originally built to as "People's Parks", for many years being the focus of family fun and activities in large cities. With huge changes in the Chinese economy and a lack of funds for upkeep, many are lying in disarray, and yet many more are still open and maintained by dedicated workers.

Here is a Shanghai theme park with dioramas and statues intended to represent countries around the world, abandoned for nearly 10 years - photos by Wesley:

The heads are growing like mushrooms there:

Ever seen an abandoned fairy tale castle before? You know, "Happily ever after"..? -

This picture has everything: signs of old, signs of new (airplane) and a profound philosophical statue to contemplate this all:

(images credit: Wesley)

Another abandoned park (again for 10 years) near Beijing: this time because of the lack of funds to maintain it -

For a moment I thought that it's a Shuttle launch tower:

(images via)

Finally, here is an aesthetic pleasure - another Chinese park, photographed by Kurt Tong

Looks like the faux-"mountains" are still standing:

(images credit: Kurt Tong)

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3. LAOS

One Korean expatriate photographer found a dilapidated amusement park while on vacation in Laos: "It was completely deserted, but it was close to some wats, and there was some kind of festive music playing from one of the wats across the street, so the whole time I walked around I could hear this faint carnival-like music. It made it all even more surreal."

Dokmaideng Playland, Vientiane, Laos

Batman grounded:

(images by SadisticSpice)

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4. SOUTH KOREA

A few more pictures from South Korea: exploration updates by Jon Dunbar, including Greenland park:

Space Beam - a veteran robot stands at the door of abandoned factory:

Entry into the park, leading to a "house of terror":

Some colorful characters inside:

Outside the park: Buddhist statues and the sound of Buddhist prayers from the temple next door:

Caterpillar exodus. The world will soon end if you see these heading out of the city.

(images credit: Jon Dunbar)

Now, this abandoned "clown train" - does anyone know where it's from? And yes, you're welcome to creep yourself out staring at it.