We're in the south of Japan right now and this volcano, Sakura Jima still has about 2000 residents people who live on it.

But the tourist boom here ended well over a decade ago and unfortunately this hotel it was one of the sad victims of the end of that boom.

I found this place just about a year ago when I lived on this volcano for a week to make a documentary about the people who choose to live on an active volcano.

But the last time that I was here I was kind of pressed for time.

I didn't have a chance to fully explore this place.

So I've come back to to do that.

I will link that one by the way because the perspective of people who choose to live on an active volcano is really something else and I could be imagining this but I'm feeling like there's far more glass and debris on the ground than there was the last time I was here.

So I'm going to be proceeding with extreme caution.

This is barely even the entrance way to the hotel by the way it goes on for some time, let's let's go explore.

Mhm mhm One of the big selling points to this place is obviously the gorgeous ocean view on this side, but also the view of the Sakura Jima volcano from the other side of the hotel also, this place is really well known for its open air bath, which I believe is down by the ocean somewhere.

I tried to get to it last time and wasn't able to, we'll take a peek but honestly hopes aren't particularly high.

I'd look in here with just this giant pile of broken dishes and cups.

Oh wow.

They just threw it all out literally a small mountain of them.

There's like seashells and everything in here is, I'm pretty sure it's a fake seashell, I don't think it's real and and there's a locker and the lockers are still locked.

What purpose would that serve?

Everything's just stripped for useful or valuable parts and then left in giant piles.

More often than not because they simply can't afford to actually take down the building or destroy it.

This particular hotel went bankrupt in 2012.

That's only again 10 years ago.

And while there is still a ton of scrap metal that could probably be collected, sold, melted down, it's likely just not worth the cost or they can't get approval to come in here and grab it all.

You never really know what it is, The cost benefit thing would make the most sense.

But at the same time Japan is a very bureaucratic country.

So just getting approval to come in and stripped metal from an abandoned building could be a bureaucratic nightmare.

Also, I'm pretty sure that that would be the entrance way to the outdoor bath.

That's probably the pathway to it down there.

I just don't think it's accessible.

Let's head over that way.

There is seriously way more broken glass than last time.

Mhm.

Okay, so we can go this way or down this way.

I haven't been down here but let's start by checking out the entrance to the bathroom.

Look at this just that chair right there in the middle, so I'm pretty sure that it's in this way.

Mhm.

I don't even know if I trust this floor.

Mhm.

Yeah, we're not getting down there.

Yeah that's seriously that just drops right off.

Let's head back to that stairway.

Okay.

Yeah, that's that's not creepy at all.

So it seems like the baths are down here.

But look at this this place had dolphin beach and a beach walk, like the Kagoshima Bay or Kinko Bay actually has a family of dolphins that lives in there that you can see from the fairies every now and then.

But it must have been really awesome to just take a beach walk with dolphins.

This must have been a really incredible hotel.

It was upon a time.

There was a nice image here of what it used to look like, but the entire thing has just been turned into a graffiti zone.

In fact you can see right here.

Everyone's left their stuff.

I also feel that likely this is gonna be the closest we're gonna get to the outdoor bath area there.

I don't know how much, I would trust that platform anyway.

It's been like that for 10 years.

It has just been taken back by nature.

But this bath area as a whole massive, this is incredibly spacious.

Get this.

It's a whole, that's not a mirror, is it?

No, that's a whole other.

That's definitely a pool that are the biggest, most luxurious bath you'll ever get into.

This genuinely seems like it would be a really cool place to stay.

Crib in the background is freaking me out just a little bit and I'm watching for giant spiders because Kyushu has a ton of Huntsman and they are weirdly everywhere.

Let's go loop around and check out the pool by the way and slightly aggressive too.

I was having drinks with a friend the other night and the Huntsman rocked up and tried to steal my drink and there's all these ropes all over the place that I keep thinking are spiders.

It's not like they're a dangerous spider.

It's just, I'd prefer not to have won all over my shoes.

You could probably jump down there.

I'm not entirely sure quite what it is or if you even share this sentiment with me, but there's just something really cool and weirdly fun about hanging out in an abandoned swimming pool.

Also a slight lack of originality in the graffiti, that one's kind of cool and again, it just blows my mind just how much scrap metal they've just left behind and there are countless piles like this all throughout the hotel now, how am I going to get back up?

We got two options.

We have the Mario style blocks over here.

But I feel like this would be the safer option.

Yeah, all of this down here is broken glass so I need to be extra careful because I haven't sent my hiking boots from Tokyo yet in case you missed it.

I live here now, not on the volcano, but in, in Kyushu, there's still a ton of the hotel that we haven't seen yet.

So let's continue our search, wow way up.

So it seems like the upper floors have really, really been emptied out.

There's even some plants growing here.

Wonder if this door you can open.

Oh it does.

Let's check out up here.

Get the volcano in the background over there.

I feel like this entire spot is likely just gonna be guest rooms.

Yeah.

Oh wow, it did have nice views.

It seems like the majority of the rooms are pretty much all the same size and layout, but I feel like there's still more to explore in that building over there.

One of the last times I came here it was pouring like an absolute downpour and all the open windows and whatnot ended up looking like waterfalls with water just rushing in.

I'm pretty sure this leads us up to the roof up here and the roof has terrible drainage.

So yeah, this is pretty much what I expected.

So then how do we get to the other side, the hotel?

Maybe these stairs, maybe this door, what does this mystery door lead?

Oh wow, okay.

Oh that is just close the blast doors, close the blast doors, Bath and shower space here.

What?

Ah that's what the noises.

I thought it was the sound of the steel like settling and I was like okay if this place is settling, I'm getting out of here right now, but the roof over this is actually leaking.

I haven't actually got my heart going for just a second, every step that I'm taking, I'm making sure that I'm on stable ground.

I'm listening for shifts and settling and everything like that.

The building should be secure but it doesn't mean that you don't need to be careful.

So ah and we have a mystery spiral staircase here.

Where is this going to take us?

Ah, big surprise right up onto the roof.

Nice view from up here though.

Look at this.

I'm genuinely impressed with how big this place is and how much there is to explore.

Like this place is huge and beautiful.

It's really unfortunate that it went out of business but it's definitely not the only one, Sakura Jima is filled with abandoned buildings and properties when I did my documentary last year about what it's like to live on an active volcano.

I almost did an entire angle about just how many abandoned properties there are because they are everywhere.

I am really, really glad that I came back and did this one though Dude!